It Had To Be You
by LaughLoveLive2.0
Summary: Raven traveled 3,000 miles to get away from her nightmare. What she ran into was the woman of her dreams. AU Raven/Chelsea. Chrave femslash.
1. Coast to Coast

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.**

**Author's Note: Another day, another new Chrave story from Ol' Trip. But this is unlike any other Chrave story I have ever attempted and I hope you like it. This story is a That's So Raven AU or Alternate Universe fic.**

**One major change in the storyline of TSR is the catalyst for this story. Raven and Chelsea are in college but have never met until this story. As will be explained later in the story, Chelsea's parents were supposed to move from Washington, DC to San Francisco before Chelsea was born but never did. Therefore, Raven grew up, not with Eddie and CHELSEA as her best friends but Eddie and ALANA. **

**I am using the plot of Cory in the House as a guide for this story but it's not really a crossover. Victor is the Executive Chef of the White House but unlike their characters on the show, they do not live in the White House. They live in the suburbs of Washington, DC just like the real life Executive Chef does.**

**By the way, one more thing. This story is set in and around the Washington, DC area. This is my hometown, so all places and street names mentioned are as real as it gets. I want to give my hometown a little love in this story!**

**So I really hope you enjoy my story. I think it will be fun to write as well as fun to read. Much love goes to my friend Pookie22. We came up with the same concept for our stories without even talking about it! How wild is that! And to Chelsea Van der Pol and DynnaChae for being my sounding boards and good friends. Okay! Here we go!**

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**It Had To Be You**

_**Chapter 1**_

**Coast to Coast**

Raven Baxter sat in the gate area in one of the expansive concourses of Los Angeles International Airport awaiting her flight. It was the end of her junior year at UCLA where she was majoring in fashion design and she was headed across country to visit her father and brother for the first time since they moved to the suburbs of Washington, DC. Raven's father, Victor, became Executive Chef of the White House following the landslide election of then-California Governor Richard Martinez to the highest office in the land.

Her father and brother were so excited about their new move and new surroundings. Victor and Cory moved into a nice four-bedroom house in the suburban enclave of Laurel, Maryland, approximately 15 miles north of DC. Using a few White House connections, Victor managed to get Cory enrolled at the exclusive private Sidwell Friends School in Northwest Washington where Chelsea Clinton, Al Gore III, the daughter of Richard Nixon and other notable Americans attended. It was there that he met his new best friends Meena Paroom, daughter of the Bahavian ambassador and Newt Livingston III, son of Senator Newton Livingston II and Supreme Court Justice Barbara Cantwell Livingston.

At the White House, Victor's easy management style has made him a favorite of his kitchen staff as well as the White House secretary and First Lady Elizabeth Martinez. Even the notoriously crusty Chief Usher of the White House, whom Victor works with closely, has warmed up to the California-bred chef. His culinary presentation has been lauded by heads of state and dignitaries around the world for its resemblance in taste and appearance to their favorite dishes from home.

Raven was happy for them and couldn't wait to see them as well as her best friend Alana Trujillo, who has been stationed at the Pentagon doing Army intelligence since she left basic training after graduating high school. Indeed, Raven looked forward spending the summer in the Nation's Capital to reunite with family and friend… and to get away from her.

In their senior year of high school, Raven tried to date her best friend Eddie. Her other relationships had come and gone and she figured that if she couldn't make things work with Eddie then there was no hope. Several dates and make out sessions later, her fears were realized. She was going to go through life without a meaningful romantic relationship. She went to college with a sense of pessimism that contradicted everything that people in her life knew to be Raven Baxter.

For the better part of the first semester, she moped around UCLA's Westwood campus mourning the loss of romance in her life. Compounding that loss was the loss of a budding friendship she was developing with her roommate who was killed in a drunk driving accident early in the spring semester of her freshman year. The housing office gave her the option to have the room to herself for the remainder of the term. The idea of being there by herself was frightening to her and she asked for someone to be assigned. That is where fate stepped in. Enter Bianca Ferrell.

If the last name isn't familiar, the first name should be… Bianca. Raven couldn't believe her eyes. It was Bianca… that Bianca. The same Bianca that terrorized her along with her cronies, Muffy and Loca, was now her college roommate. _How did this heifer even make it into college?_ Raven thought to herself. _She was an arch criminal in high school!_

Time, however, had softened Bianca. She immediately apologized to Raven for everything that she had done to her and begged her forgiveness. Raven accepted her apology. That acceptance was the catalyst for a close friendship to form that after a year morphed into something more. Raven didn't know how or when it happened but she and Bianca had actually fallen for each other.

The close friendship they shared grew even closer during their sophomore year and going into their junior year. But then, school started getting more intense for the both of them. Each of them had part-time jobs to supplement the money that parents, and in Bianca's case uncles and aunts, had sent them. A gap started to form that widened into a pothole that became a chasm. They saw each other less and less. And then for Raven the unthinkable happened… Bianca cheated on her with some random chick that she met at a party that she managed to find time to sneak off to. Game, set and match. Their relationship, their friendship was over.

The last month and a half of school was hell to say the least. Sharing a room with a girl she couldn't stand drove Raven up the wall. It took nightly cell phone calls from Alana and Eddie, who was at attending USC across town, to keep her from flicking off and killing Bianca. Two deaths in one dorm room was "not cool" according to her reasoning.

So there she sat with her carry-on bag at her feet and her laptop in her lap awaiting her flight into Baltimore's BWI Airport, the one closest to her father's house. She began pecking away at her keyboard, penning another one of her short stories. Her love of television and storytelling had taken her to the fan fiction website where she began writing stories based on her favorite shows. She was in the middle of a chapter in the latest Degrassi story she had written when her eyelids began to get heavy. Moments later, she drifted off to sleep.

Raven was awakened by the gentle nudge of a pleasant, distinguished looking African-American woman that appeared to be in her sixties.

"Sweetheart, you want to be careful. You don't want anyone stealing your expensive laptop." The woman said softly.

Raven, still a bit groggy from her impromptu nap, looked at her surroundings and then at the woman and smiled.

"Thank you. I don't even remember nodding off. This is the most relaxed I've been in a while." Raven said. "Ma'am, could you tell me what time it is?"

"About quarter to nine." The woman offered.

"Good. I don't want to miss my flight. I miss my family." Raven said.

"Flying home to Baltimore?" The woman asked.

"No, well, yeah. My father and brother moved about two years ago. My father works in DC. I stayed out here and went to school. It'll be my first time visiting." Raven said.

"Poor baby. What did you do for the holidays? Christmas, Thanksgiving?" The woman asked.

"Spent it with my girl…" Raven caught herself. She had come out to her family and friends but was not keen on broadcasting it to strangers. "My friend out here."

The woman picked up on Raven's Freudian slip but decided not to press. She then glimpsed the screen saver on Raven's laptop and had to ask. "Is that her?"

Raven looked at the screen. "Her? No. This is my best friend Alana. I'll get to see her too. She works at the Pentagon. I haven't seen her in two and a half years. Wow!"

"Well I'm sure she misses you too…"

"Raven. Raven Baxter."

"Shirley Washington. Pleasure to meet you. I… didn't mean to take you away from what you were doing…"

"It's okay." Raven said. "I hate coming to the airport by myself anyway. So are you going home?"

"No. I'm visiting my son. He lives near Baltimore with his wife. I make the trip every year. She's pregnant with my first grandchild." Shirley said.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Washington! That's wonderful!" Raven exclaimed.

"Shirley, please."

"Okay, Shirley." Raven smiles.

"So what does your father do in Washington?" Shirley inquired.

"He's the Executive Chef at the White House." Raven said proudly.

"You mean that handsome man with the bald head that they call 'Chef Victor' is your father?" Shirley asked. Raven nodded and produced a picture of the entire family. "I saw him on Good Morning America a few weeks ago. Your father is very talented."

"I didn't get this figure by eating yogurt I'll tell you that!" Raven said causing both of them to laugh.

"Your mother is pretty. I see where you get your looks." Shirley said.

"Thank you." Raven said with a slightly forlorn look on her face. "She's in England right now. I really miss her. She'll be home next year though. Studying law." Shirley nodded and was about to speak when the intercom at the gate crackled.

_**Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Southwest Airlines would like to welcome you to flight 1394 with non-stop service to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. We invite passengers seated in rows 28-34 to board at this time.**_

"Well, that's our cue." Raven said as she gathered her things.

"I don't know if we are sitting near each other but it was a pleasure talking to you, Raven." Shirley said.

"You too Shirley. Or should I say Grandma." Raven said with a smile. Raven extended her hand to Shirley who took it and then placed her free hand on top.

"You are a delightful young woman and I wish you nothing but happiness in life." Shirley said before gently patting Raven's cheek.

Raven smiled and then caught herself as she felt a surprise rush of emotion wash over her. It took everything she had inside to suppress the onset of tears that she felt as Shirley made her way to the quickly forming line.

_God! That felt like I was talking to my grandmother. _Raven thought to herself. _Maybe there's hope for me yet._

Five and a half hours later, Raven landed at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. She had called her brother, father and Alana to let them know her flight information, but due to work and school, they were unable to pick her up from the airport. Raven was going to catch a shuttle van from the airport to her father's house where he left a key in the Hide-a-key rock by the front door.

Raven went down to the baggage claim carousel to retrieve her bags. She didn't bring a lot, figuring that she would take advantage of the shopping alternatives that the DC Metro area had to offer. She waited for roughly five minutes for the bags from her flight to be loaded. As she was standing at the carousel, someone bumped into the back of legs with a luggage cart without saying they were sorry. She turned around to give them a piece of her mind when she froze dead in her tracks.

"I thought you might need this." The person said in a monotone voice.

"ALANA!" Raven squealed as she jumped up and down, embracing her best friend in a python-like bear hug. Alana, however, was too overjoyed to care as she threw her arms around Raven and openly wept. Raven's tears flowed as well. As Raven had told Shirley back in LA, it had been over two years since she laid eyes on her beautiful Latina best friend.

Alana began muttering in Spanish, as she did when she got excited. She got the shock of her life, however, when Raven came back and matched her fluently word for word.

"You speak Spanish?" Alana asked incredulously.

"Half the time, I don't know what the hell you be sayin'! So I went and got one of those Rosetta Stone things." Raven said. "They work like a champ!"

That set Alana off on another tangent of Spanish utterances that culminated in the very English, "I missed the hell out of you, girl!"

"Me too!" Raven said as she motioned to Alana that her bags were coming around to their position. "But what are you doing here? I thought you had to work!"

"Well, your father couldn't take off and Cory has a big test today and there was no way in hell I was gonna let you take a raggedy shuttle to your pop's house!" Alana said as they both pulled a total of four bags off the carousel. "That it?" Alana asked. Raven said yes. "Come on. I parked in the garage."

They loaded up Raven's bags into Alana's 2005 Nissan Pathfinder and took off on the twenty minute trip to Victor's house.

"So what have you been up to? What's his name? How big is he and I ain't talking about his weight! And are you happy?" Raven fired off questions to her BFF.

"Working hard. Lieutenant Darius Mackey, graduate of the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis. GODDAMN! And yes." Alana answered Raven's questions in order.

"I am so happy for you." Raven said with a smile. "Now back to the goddamn…"

"A girl never kisses and tells, Raven. She may kiss and grin from ear to ear…" Raven began cracking up when Alana said that. "But never will she tell. But what about you? Have you finally got that bitch out of your system?" Alana asked referring to Bianca.

"I did. I did." Raven reassured Alana and herself. "I don't even want to think about her. She is persona non grata. She doesn't exist. I just want to chill out, relax, enjoy my family, enjoy my girl…"

"Get laid…" Alana added.

"LA LA?" Raven said, using her occasional nickname for Alana.

"Raven, it is my personal quest in the next three months to get you laid." Alana said with determination. "You yourself said that you didn't have sex with that bitch for the last two months you were together. Two months is too much time to let go by. Your kitty cat could dry out any day now!"

"First of all, you need mental counseling. Second, are you going to refer to Bianca as 'that bitch' for the rest of your life? And third, what are you my pimp now?" Raven said.

"She will always be 'that bitch' to me and no I am not your pimp." Alana said. "But just for the record, how much do you think I could get for your services?"

"Ugghhhh! You are so nasty!" Raven said in mock disgust.

"I don't know Rae. Brothas in DC like 'em thick! And you got mo' cornbread than Jiffy!" Alana said.

"SHUT UP!" Raven said laughing.

"Bring ALL the boys… and girls to the yard!" Alana added.

"You are sick! And I missed you, you sick heifer you!" Raven said.

"We are gonna tear this place UP! You hear me!" Alana said before rattling off the major DC area shopping destinations. "Arundel Mills, Potomac Mills, Tyson's Corner, Bowie Town Center, Dulles Town Center, Mazza Galleria…"

"Don't forget Georgetown! That's right, I do my homework!" Raven said.

"Was there any doubt?" Alana said with a smile. "Alright, here we are." Alana pulled into a residential neighborhood just off of the major highway they came off of. Raven remembered seeing a sign that said "Baltimore-Washington Parkway". She wanted to remember it for when she felt comfortable enough with the area to drive.

"This is nice. Dear Old Dad done good." Raven said with a smile.

Moments later, They pulled into the driveway of the two-story colonial with tan siding. Raven got out of Alana's truck and took in the surroundings. It was a quiet, clean, tree- lined residential neighborhood in the suburbs.

"How far are we from the city?" Raven asked.

"Twenty-five minutes without traffic, an hour with it." Alana said as she unloaded the bags.

"Sounds like home." Raven said.

"Second-worst traffic in America. Welcome to Washington, DC!" Alana proclaimed.

Alana and Raven had two bags a piece as they neared the front door. Raven began looking around the right side of the door for the rock that her father said that he place the key under.

"He… said it was… a brown rock with a crack… in it." Raven said as she bent down in search of the elusive stone.

"Here's the rock, Rae." A brown hand with the rock in it extended downward . Raven took the rock and stood up to face the giver.

"Thanks, Dad." Raven said non-chalantly as she opened the rock to take the key out. Two seconds later, her mind registered what had just taken place. "Dad?" She said to herself before looking to her left. "DAD!" Raven exclaimed before jumping into his arms.

Victor picked Raven up and spun her around. "My baby girl is home!"

As Raven wiped her tears, Victor sat her down. "Baby girl? I better be your only girl, that's all I'm sayin'!" Raven joked.

"You know you are." Victor said with a beaming smile.

"So let me guess… you're off today too and are in on this little ruse." Raven said. "Where's Cockroach?" Raven asked, referring to her brother.

"Should be at football practice. Wanna ride with me to pick him up?"

"Football practice? This I have got to see!" Raven exclaimed. "Come on La La."

"This is family time. I'll just…" Alana started.

"You'll just hop your behind in my father's car and ride with us." Raven said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You are just as much my family as anybody. La familia." Both Raven and Alana smiled just before embracing warmly and walking arm in arm heading toward Victor's car. "Is it that obvious that I need to get laid?" Raven asked.

"You might as well scribble it on your forehead in magic marker." Alana joked.

"It has been a minute." Raven said. "And I heard that the chicks in DC are nice."

Alana grinned. She then paused, looked at Raven and proclaimed, "Atta girl. Chocolate City better look out, 'cause Raven is here!"

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**That was chapter one. What do you think? PLEASE REVIEW.**


	2. The One

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story. **

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**It Had To Be You**

_**Chapter 2**_

**The One**

A warm smile blanketed Raven's face as she listened to the mock argument between her father and her brother at the dinner table. It was the first time she had sat down to eat a meal with another Baxter family member in almost a year; since the last time she visited her grandmother in San Diego. It didn't matter to her what the argument was about. She was just glad to be in a place that she could call a home.

From across the table, her best friend Alana studied her intently. Alana immediately noticed that Raven had dropped about twenty-five pounds since she saw the dark-haired beauty last. And while Raven's makeup was flawlessly applied, she detected slight puffiness underneath the eyes suggesting that the young Miss Baxter might not be getting as much rest as she needed to regenerate her body. But the biggest thing that Alana noticed was her best friend's deflated character.

For as long as Alana knew Raven, she was the life of the party, the center of attention. The gravitational pull of a room would shift when Raven entered. As she watched her best friend interact with her family, she noticed that it seemed like Raven was holding back or dare she think it, Raven was somewhat withdrawn. Had she not seen Raven literally sprint off the plane on their senior class trip to Jamaica, she would have chalked up Raven's reserved behavior to jet lag. But Alana sensed that something lay below the surface, something that Raven had not shared with her in the many conversations they had.

"So Dad… what's going on tonight?" Raven asked, expecting her father to have planned one of his family activities in celebration of Raven's visit.

Victor and Cory had just come back into the dining room from clearing the dishes. "Well, we figured that you and Alana had a lot of catching up to do so we're leaving you in charge of the place." Victor said. "Cory and I have tickets to the Wizards preseason game." Victor added, referring to Washington's pro basketball team.

Raven had a slightly deflated look on her face that Alana picked up on instantly. "Girl! Did you not think your girl had plans for you tonight! You know me better than that Raven Lydia Baxter!" With Alana's statement, the smile returned to Raven's lips. It was impossible for her to be in a mood around the Latina spitfire.

"Well, there it is." Victor said. "Come on Cory. We better change."

"Dad, I need my Gilbert Arenas jersey back." Cory said.

"You gave that to me." Victor responded.

"I let you _**borrow**_ it." Cory fired back. That set off another mini-argument that started at the table and continued upstairs. "I'll bring you back a t-shirt, Rae!" Cory interrupted his argument to say to his sister.

"Thanks, Cory!" Raven called out. She shook her head and smiled. "It's good to be home." Raven said to Alana before getting up and walking over to the sofa and plopping down.

Alana flopped down right next to Raven and faced her. She took Raven by both hands and smiled. Raven returned the smile, albeit half-heartedly. "Girl, what's wrong?" Alana said softly.

Raven dropped her head. "I never knew how much I missed them until just now." Raven said softly. "You too. I should have…" Raven cut herself off and shook her head.

"What?" Alana asked.

Raven paused for a minute. She was about to speak when Victor and Cory came bounding down the stairs.

"Alright Rae. You have your key and the alarm code is on the table by the door." Victor said. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will Dad. Have fun." Raven said.

"Bye, Mister Baxter. Bye, Sexy." Alana playfully purred. Cory responded by growling and swiping at her with his "paw" before leaving.

"Okay. Did you just flirt with my brother? Ewww!" Raven said.

"Boostin' his self-esteem. It's good for him. He's met Darius, so he wouldn't even think about makin' a move!" Alana said, causing both of them to laugh. "But back to what we were talking about. You should have what?"

Raven sighed. "I should have moved here with them." Raven paused. "Maybe I wouldn't feel…"

"Feel like what?" Alana asked, her concern for her friend growing.

"Sometimes I feel like an outsider in my own life." Raven admitted. "I'm just kind of going through the motions, you know?" Alana nodded. "I just…" Raven felt herself begin to well up and quickly moved to snap the lid on her emotions shut. "NOPE! UNH-UH!" Raven exclaimed as she hopped up off the couch and walked across the room. "I promised myself that I was not gonna shed another tear… over…" Raven stopped in the middle of the floor with her back to Alana.

From her vantage point on the couch she could see Raven's shoulders begin to shake. Silent sobbing had begun. She then heard Raven's lungs fill with air to cry out. That sound caused her to begin to well up, not wanting to see her best friend break down. Alana walked up behind Raven and placed her hands on Raven's shoulders. As meek as Alana had ever heard Raven speak, she eked out, "She hurt me."

"Shhh." Alana said a split second before Raven turned around and collapsed into her arms sobbing. Alana rested Raven's head on her shoulder and stroked her hair. "I know it hurts. Just let it out." Alana said softly as Raven wept. Alana held Raven for several minutes as she cried. When no more tears would fall, Alana led them back over to the couch and sat them both down. "Here." Alana said as she handed Raven several tissues from the box on the coffee table.

"Thanks." Raven said softly as she sniffed her tears. "I didn't mean to…"

"You needed to." Alana said. "And if you need to some more, my other shoulder is dry." Alana smiled.

Through her tears, Raven managed to laugh at Alana's last joke. "How do you do that? I'm crying and you get me to laugh." Raven asked.

"It's in my best friend contract." Alana joked again. Her demeanor then turned serious. "You really loved Bianca, didn't you?"

Raven paused to consider the question. "She was familiar. She was funny. I felt… alive around her."

"So you need to feel alive again." Alana said. Raven nodded. "So let's go get you feeling alive again."

"Living tonight consists of you, me, that TV and some conversation." Raven said.

"No, mi amiga." Alana replied. "Living tonight consists of you, me and a trip to the club!"

"I… don't want to go to a club tonight!" Raven said. "People bumpin' into you, sweatin' all on you, smellin' like cheap aftershave, vodka and ass!"

"Trust me. I know how to keep people off you at the club." Alana said. "I promise you that you will have a good time. You might even meet somebody."

"I am not trying to get wrapped up in somebody right now." Raven said.

"So don't. You're here for the summer. Have some fun and get yo' swerve on!" Alana exclaimed.

"I just can't…" Raven started before she was cut off.

"You just can't what? Go to the club, find some hot young thang with perky breasts and a tight ass, get hopped up on a little alcohol and make some bad decisions?" Alana said.

"Okay Vince Vaughn." Raven said sarcastically. "Just go to the club, casually pick up some random chick I'll never see again and fuck her till I can't walk in the morning?" Alana paused to allow Raven's words to sink in. "If I'm not having fun after and hour, you'll bring me straight home?"

"Scout's honor." Alana said.

"You were never in the scouts." Raven said.

"Okay. Sunshine Girls honor." Alana countered and then snickered.

"Say it. I dare you." Raven scowled at Alana. "One crack about that damn banana-ass outfit I had to wear and I'm planting my ass on this sofa for the night." Alana put an imaginary key up to her mouth and turned it signaling that she would keep her mouth closed. "Alright. I'll go." Alana started jumping and clapping. "Let me go change before I change my mind." Raven said as she lifted herself off the sofa.

Alana stood and embraced Raven. "You are not gonna regret this! I have a feeling tonight is your night!" Alana squealed.

"My night." Raven mumbled to herself as she went upstairs. "That would be nice for a change."

Two hours later, Raven and Alana hopped on the subway, called "Metro" in the DC area, to Club Chaos, a bar in the Dupont Circle section of DC.

"I am still trying to figure out how you poured yourself into those jeans." Alana said incredulously.

"Well, since we're going to the club, I might as well show off." Raven said. "It makes me feel better."

"It'll make all the women at the club feel better too." Alana said.

"Why again are we going to a gay club? We could've gone to a straight one." Raven said. "What's the name of that club you're always talking about, Love?"

"Rae, the chances of you hooking up are better for you at Chaos. Love is too ghetto." Alana said.

"La La, are you sure about this?" Raven asked.

"Rae, if I have to go down on you myself, you're getting laid tonight." Alana said.

"Don't go building my hopes up. I've seen you lick an ice cream cone." Raven joked.

"That's the Raven I know and love!" Alana said. "And just in time too. Here's our stop."

A few minutes after stepping off the Metro, Raven and Alana stepped inside Club Chaos. The two beautiful young women immediately caught the attention of the women in close proximity to the entrance as the women tried to figure out if they were there as a couple or as friends.

"See! You're catchin' looks already!" Alana said as she yelled over the music.

"I'm not the only one!" Raven yelled back as she nodded at a woman to her left that had eyeballed Alana from the second they walked in.

The two of them made their way to the bar to order. The bartender, a tall, slender blonde with short hair came over to take their orders. She smiled at both of them, although her smile lingered on Raven for several additional seconds.

"Rum and coke." Alana said as she instinctively put her ID on the counter.

"Vodka and Red Bull, please." Raven said. She slid her hand into her back pocket to retrieve her ID, handing it to the bartender.

"Wish my driver's license picture looked this good." The bartender said to Raven. Alana raised her eyebrow slightly seeing a slight blush creep onto Raven's cheeks. The bartender handed them their licenses back and set off to mix their drinks.

"This is gonna be like shooting fish in a barrel." Alana smiled. "All you have to do is say, 'Drop your panties.', and she'd be all over you."

"You are so stupid!" Raven said as she playfully hit Alana's arm. "This is a nice place. But… I don't see any men."

"Must be ladies night." Alana said.

"So how many times have you been in here?" Raven asked.

"Once. One of the officers in my section comes here a lot." Alana said. "Shhh. Don't ask, don't tell."

Raven shook her head and smiled. Just then, the bartender came back with their drinks.

"Okay, here we go." The bartender said. "Rum and coke for you…" She said to Alana. "Vodka and Red Bull…" She slid the glass over to Raven. Raven then noticed a piece of paper underneath the glass. "And my name and number, in case the Red Bull doesn't have enough kick for you." The bartender smiled and winked before moving on to the next customer.

Alana swooped in and snatched the piece of paper from underneath the glass. "Robin. 202-555-8533. Aww! Robin and Raven. Two birds of a feather. You are good!"

"I didn't do anything! She just gave me her phone number!" Raven said.

"You booked a girl within five minutes of coming in here! Gay or straight, that's a pimp in my book!" Alana said. "Now get liquored up. We've got some dancing to do."

Two drinks later, Raven and Alana were on the dance floor. They were naturals. They had danced with each other many times at parties and sleepovers, so they were very familiar with the way the other one moved. Grinding on the dance floor with Alana was no problem for Raven because as beautiful as Alana was, she simply didn't see her best friend in a romantic way and Alana knew it.

With each dance, Raven found herself slowly sliding out of the shell that she had crawled into in the months before her trip. She was out on the town with her best girlfriend and all the insecurities that she had built up in her mind were being forgotten for this night. After five dances, Raven and Alana found themselves exhausted and decided that another round of drinks was in order.

"Ladies." Robin the bartender greeted them upon their return to the bar. "Another round of the same?"

Raven decided to have a little fun. "There are about 200 people in here and we've been on the dance floor for almost half an hour and you mean to tell me that you're gonna remember our drinks?" Raven said flirtatiously.

Robin smirked. "Tell you what. My shift is over in five minutes. If I get your drinks right, I get one dance with you. If not, then I go home frustrated."

"And our drinks are on the house." Raven added.

"Pick a spot on the dance floor for us." Robin said with a self-satisfied smile as she went to retrieve their drinks.

"You realize you just bet a bartender that she couldn't remember your drink order." Alana said to Raven.

"Darn." Raven said. "I really wanted to win that bet." She said with sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"La estrella del año is back!" Alana exclaimed giving Raven an enthusiastic high-five, calling her the "star of the year" in Spanish.

Moments later, Robin came back with two drinks in hand. "Alright. Sexy mama number one gets the rum and coke. Sexy mama number two gets the vodka and Red Bull and my hand on the dance floor after I change." Without so much as a smile, Robin turned on her heels and began preparing for the shift change. Alana chuckled incredulously and looked at Raven.

Several minutes later, Robin emerged from the back of the house in a crisp, pale blue t-shirt with navy piping on the cuffs of the sleeves and neck and low-rise denim jeans.

As she approached their position, Alana leaned over to Raven and whispered, "Ten bucks says she's got cotton boy briefs on." Raven cut her eyes at Alana before Robin walked up to them, taking Raven by the hand.

"Thanks for keeping her warm for me." Robin said to Alana as she led Raven out to the dance floor.

Robin proved herself to be as natural as Raven and Alana on the dance floor. The big difference was that her hands managed to find every curve that Raven had to offer and some that Raven herself didn't know she had. Not that Raven's body didn't like the contact, on the contrary, she was enjoying it. But something felt odd to her. Whatever Raven was looking for on this night would not be found with Robin. At the end of the song, Robin led Raven back over to Alana's position.

"Consider your debt paid." Robin purred into Raven's ear. "Care to make another wager?"

"I have your number. Why don't I call you?" Raven said softly.

Robin's face showed a mild hint of defeat but she pressed forward. "You do that. That's my cell number. It's on day and night." Robin said before turning and disappearing into the throng of people.

"And why are you not walking out of here with her?" Alana said.

"She's hot and all, but I didn't feel it." Raven said.

"Feel what?" Alana asked.

"It." Raven explained as she began looking around. "I can't describe it. It's just…" Raven spotted two women on the dance floor engaged in an intense dance and pointed them out. "That's IT." She looked around some more. "That's IT." Her head swiveled again looking for another example when directly across the dance floor through an opening in the sea of bodies, she saw the piercing gaze of another burning through her. All coherent thoughts and conversation came to a screeching halt.

"Damn." Raven said softly.

Alana was about to ask why Raven had suddenly stopped talking when she saw the object of Raven's desire. Across the dance floor was a fair-skinned woman that at first glance appeared to be a shade taller than Raven. She had long auburn hair that fell loosely like one would see in a shampoo commercial. She wore a green top that played perfectly against her auburn-red hair and accentuated her full breasts and small waist. The blue denim low-rise jeans displayed hips that appeared to be lethal simply standing still.

"Rae?" Alana said to a mesmerized Raven. "Raven?"

"That's… what I was talking about." Raven said almost trance-like. "That's… IT." With that, Raven began walking toward this mysterious redhead. Almost on cue, the redhead put down the drink that she had been nursing turned to the fair-skinned woman that was standing next to her and plotted an intercept course to meet Raven on the dance floor.

Their eyes never left each other as they glided toward one another. With the beat pounding in their ears, they comfortably slid into each other's grasp. Not a single word had been spoken between the two. But at that moment in time, nothing had to be said. Raven felt the indescribable pull from the moment she laid eyes on her. She was the one. The grinding dance was as intense as Raven had ever experienced. She was incapable of tearing her hazel eyes away from the soft brown eyes that were staring back at her.

As the beat continued to pulsate, the redhead turned her back to Raven and reached behind her, placing her hand on the back of Raven's head as they continued to dance. The light scent of the redhead's perfume intoxicated Raven's senses as did the redhead's backside when she turned her back to Raven and pushed it into her as they moved.

Raven wrapped her left hand around the redhead's waist, sliding her hand across the smooth expanse of skin. She was close enough to hear the redhead's breath catch in her throat at Raven's touch of her bare skin. Raven's body felt the effects of this silent, seductive show as well. Her body tingled and burned for the redhead's touch. There was a primal need that began to build inside her body. She had never felt such a base need for the intimate touch of another person in her life. Especially since she had only seen this woman for the first time five minutes earlier and she had yet to speak a single word to her.

Words, however, did not matter. That dance, that night, that moment was not about spoken words. The two women were communicating on a level that transcended speech. The messages that were being sent were being received as loudly and as clearly as if they had been shouted with a megaphone.

The redhead turned around to face Raven once again, resting her arms on the shoulders of the shorter, darker woman. Raven placed both hands on the woman's waist and pulled her close, pressing their bodies together. Both women gasped upon feeling the close contact. There was a hazy lust in both of their eyes as the inertia of their desire brought their lips closer together in slow motion before pressing together for the deepest kiss either of them had even engaged in.

Their hearts hammered inside their chests. The surge of adrenaline that flowed through them fueled the incredibly intense kiss that ended only for the consumption of air. Seconds later, the first spoken utterance of any kind was delivered after the redhead purposely lifted her knee and gently pressed the seam of Raven's jeans into her center.

"Fuck!" Raven whisper-hissed as the corresponding pleasurable sensation rocketed through her body.

The redhead replied with white-hot sensuality, "You read my mind." With that, the redhead turned, reaching back for Raven's hand. Raven instinctively reached out and took the redhead's hand and was lead down a narrow hallway past the bathrooms and several doors. They didn't stop until they turned the corner and reached the end of that shorter hallway where a bouncer stood. Without a single word, the redhead reached in her pocket and flashed a fifty dollar bill which the bouncer took and nodded toward the door to his right.

They stepped onto the other side of the black door into a small room with a small leather couch and a leather chair. The second the door closed behind them, they were all over one another. Hands flew everywhere – roaming through hair, grasping at shirts, fumbling for zippers on jeans. The women nearly simultaneously worked their hands inside the other's jeans, almost if they were racing to see which one could reach their destination first. It could have been considered a tie.

Both of them cried out in pleasure as they teased and pleased one another. The breathing between the two was labored as they hungrily kissed and nipped at one another. It would have been obvious to any observer just how hungry for intimate touch these two women were.

Raven pushed the redhead against the door pinning her, moving blouse and bra, nipping and sucking the redhead's breasts. Seconds later, roles were reversed as the redhead flipped around doing the same to Raven. More role reversal, one then two fingers inside. The pace was frantic; passionate bordering on violent. The crescendo continued to build and build and in the blink of an eye… release. Total, intensely blissful release.

As they untangled themselves from one another, they began to blink themselves out of the hazy, lust driven, alcohol-fueled stupor they were in. They were by no means drunk, just more uninhibited with the libation in their systems. They slowly looked around at their surroundings. They never made it to the leather couch. The leather chair was untouched. They looked at each other again, still mesmerized by the eyes of the other. And then, a curious sensation flowed between the two of them… the giggles.

They began laughing. They were laughing at the absurdity of the situation. They were laughing at the realization that they had just had sex with a complete stranger in the back room of a night club. They were laughing at the realization that they left their friends out in the club wondering where they had disappeared to. They were also laughing because neither of them knew what to say next.

"I… uh…" Raven said.

"Yeah." The redhead replied.

"I've never done…" Raven stammered.

"Me… either… NOT in a club… with a… stranger." The redhead mumbled.

"Yeah." Raven responded.

"You… were… you are…" The redhead fumbled to say.

"You too. Wow!" Raven said awkwardly as she chuckled slightly.

"I guess… maybe… I should… know your name." The redhead asked.

Raven paused for a second. _In case this chick is a stalker or something, maybe an alias is in order." _She thought to herself. "Call me Lydia."

The redhead had the same thought process and quickly came up with a fake name as well. "I'm Danni."

"Nice to meet you, Danni." Raven said offering her hand to shake.

"I think were past the handshake stage, Lydia." Danni said as she closed the distance between them and delivered another sultry kiss.

"My…uh… friend… is probably worried… about me. I should…" Raven said.

"Me too. My friend is waiting… can I… get your number? We can… have coffee… or something." Danni said.

"Sure." Raven said. Danni buttoned her jeans and took out her cell phone. Raven slowly took the phone, making sure she contacted Danni's hand, and dialed her cell phone number. She handed the phone back to Danni, who smiled and closed it before sliding it back into her pocket.

"I'll call you soon." Danni said as she turned and walked toward the door. She opened it to leave when she stopped. "Lydia?"

Raven's eyes widened slightly. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for tonight." Danni said.

Raven smiled. "Thank you." And with that, Danni retreated, closing the door behind her. Raven closed her eyes and replayed the events of their encounter and allowed them to be saved onto her mental hard drive. She smiled to herself before heading out of the room to the bathroom to freshen up before going back out to find Alana.

A few minutes later, Raven emerged from the bathroom and found Alana at the bar, sipping on a beverage.

"Another rum and coke?" Raven asked. Alana turned around to see her best friend.

"Rae? Where the hell have you been? One minute you're dancing out there with… with Big Red and the next minute you're gone!" Alana asked.

"We were… dancing." Raven said coolly. "Come on. I'm ready to go home." Raven started for the door. Alana threw a few bills on the bar and caught up to Raven.

"Rae? What happened? Did something happen between you two?" Alana said. Raven just looked at her and kept walking. "You didn't break down and cry did you?" Raven still said nothing as they reached the outside. They walked down 17th Street Northwest headed for the Metro station when Alana decided she could take Raven's silence no more. "RAVEN LYDIA BAXTER! STOP GIVING ME THE SILENT TREATMENT AND TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!" Alana exclaimed.

Raven stopped on the sidewalk and took her best friend by the shoulders. She put on her calm face and voice as she spoke. "Let's just say that I won't need you to go down on me tonight and leave it at that." Raven said calmly as she turned to walk away, leaving her best friend standing with her mouth agape.

Alana snapped out of her shock and caught up to Raven. "You two did it?"

"Smacked it up, flipped it and rubbed it down like Bell Biv DeVoe." Raven said, recalling the lyrics to the R &B group's hit, Do Me Baby.

Alana squealed in delight. "Wow! My little Raven has grown up! She really flipped your switch, huh?"

Raven replayed the events of the evening in her mind again and simply smiled and nodded. "She did, La La. She really did."

* * *

**Okay, I know that you all know who the redhead is but them not knowing their true identities builds the suspense until they meet again. And they will meet in the next chapter. I promise. Chapter three is next.**

**BTW, Club Chaos does exist. I'm not sure about the back rooms however. I've never been there. Love night club also exists. Can't comment on that one either.**


	3. Déjà vu All Over Again

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story. **

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**It Had To Be You**

_**Chapter 3**_

**Déjà vu All Over Again**

The life of Chelsea Ophelia Daniels had a master plan. The twenty-two year old was about to enter her senior year at George Washington University, majoring in political science. After graduation, she was headed to law school, either GW's or the one at cross-town Georgetown University. Then it was on to the world of politics. Chelsea was seven years old when she met a young, up-and-coming governor from Arkansas named William Jefferson Clinton at fundraiser her parents took her to. She was captivated with the way Governor Clinton had with people and decided on the spot to "do what he does for a living". It was then that her life gained meaning.

A year later, she met a girl that would become her lifelong friend, Jasmine Troy. Jasmine was a strikingly beautiful young woman of mixed African-American, West Indian and Dutch descent. She stood roughly 5'6" with a head full of thick, wavy hair that was a mixture of light and dark brown. Her frame was thin, but curvy. She had beautiful almond-shaped eyes, high cheek bones with large dimples in her cheeks and full lips.

Jasmine had a determined will. There were only two people on Earth that could sway her when her mind was set on something, her mother and Chelsea. Chelsea's infectious laugh and passion for everything that she did drew Jasmine to her. It was Chelsea's power of persuasion that pulled Jasmine into politics with her, kicking and screaming.

Jasmine put up such a fight because it was her father's political ambition that destroyed her parent's marriage. His long hours and tireless campaigning for political office in Eastern Pennsylvania drove the immovable wedge between he and Jasmine's mother that ultimately tore them apart. In the end, however, Chelsea's constant effort to chip away Jasmine's resolve finally broke her down. That is why they were in the position they were in. They were soon-to-be seniors and first-year White House interns sharing an apartment subsidized by their parents.

It was just before seven on a cool Thursday morning in the Foggy Bottom section of Washington, a stone's throw from the GW campus and a twenty-minute walk to the White House. The young redhead was sound asleep, her face buried underneath her fluffy pillow. The shrill sound of her alarm was just moments away.

"Chellll-sea!" Jasmine called out softly in sing-songy fashion to her best friend from the threshold of her bedroom door. "Chelsea Daaaaniels! Rise and shine, Sleepyhead!"

"Go away!" Chelsea groaned from underneath the pillow.

"Come on C.O. We've got a big day ahead of us. The First Lady has got us helping with the menu for the State Dinner." Jasmine said.

"You do it. I'm staying right here." Chelsea mumbled.

"That's the sex talking. What did I tell you? No orgasms within nine hours of you doing something important. Orgasms are like NyQuil for you. Now get up." Jasmine said.

"No." Chelsea said in child-like fashion.

"Get up or I'm pulling back all the covers." Jasmine demanded.

"I still won't move." Chelsea said defiantly.

"Fine." Jasmine said sharply. "I'll just call your mother and tell her that you had indiscriminate sex with a stranger in a gay and lesbian night club last night." Jasmine said as Chelsea quickly scrambled out of her blanketed cocoon. "That ought to get you out of bed!" Jasmine exclaimed as Chelsea jumped up and chased her down the hallway into the kitchen. Chelsea cornered Jasmine near the refrigerator and got in her face and playfully bullied her.

"What were you going to do?" Chelsea asked menacingly.

"Uhh, suggest that you go brush your teeth! Damn! Can you say morning breath to be damned?" Jasmine exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Chelsea exclaimed as she shuffled out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. "It was the alcohol!"

"Alcohol does not smell like shit!" Jasmine fired back.

"Shut up and fix some coffee!" Chelsea countered with a chuckle.

A few minutes later, Chelsea re-emerged from the bathroom to the smell of freshly brewing coffee.

"It'll be ready in a few." Jasmine said. Chelsea nodded and shuffled over to the cabinet for a bowl and some her box of cereal. "I still can't believe you hooked up with that girl last night! What was her name?"

"Lydia." Chelsea said as she poured her Lucky Charms into a bowl.

"I mean it looked like y'all were having sex right there on the dance floor! But then you disappeared and I knew it was on! You are a pimp! You hear me? A p-i-m-p, pimp." Jasmine said.

"She is the most incredible woman I've ever met." Chelsea said with stars in her voice as she poured her milk.

"Wait. You've been a lesbian for two years now and have dated five women, only two of which you've slept with, so easy on the superlatives, okay?" Jasmine said.

"Cut me a little slack, Jazz." Chelsea said. "Remember when you met Tony? And you said that you felt your insides shake whenever he got near you? Chelsea asked rhetorically. "That's how Lydia made me feel." Chelsea said, scooping cereal into her mouth.

"Are you gonna call her?" Jasmine asked.

"Maybe. I mean I don't want her to think I'm a slut or anything." Chelsea said.

"Chelly, you screwed her in a VIP room in a night club. She does not think you're Mother Teresa." Jasmine said. "I haven't seen you light up about anybody since…"

"Don't… say her name. Do you hear me?" Chelsea ordered. "It has been stricken from every book and tablet in this house."

"Okay." Jasmine relented.

"Anyway, I don't know anything about her. Hell, Lydia's probably not even her name! I didn't give her my real name." Chelsea said.

"What name did you give her?"

"Danni. With an 'I'."

"Danni. Daniels. Not bad on the fly." Jasmine said. "I think you should call her.'

"And say what? I mean found out she has a landing strip before I found out her name. The cart is waaaay in front of the horse." Chelsea said.

"Just go back to the beginning. 'Hi, my name is Danni from the club. I wanted to know if you wanted to get together for coffee… and some more mind-blowing freak nasty sex!" Jasmine joked.

"Jaaaazz!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." Jasmine chuckled. "Seriously, I haven't seen you this focused since you took the SAT's. It is obvious to me that you want to see this girl again, so make it happen. When we get home tonight, whenever that is, you are going to get on the phone and call her. You deserve to be happy and that woman put a smile on your face, that's for damn sure!"

"You're right… as usual." Chelsea said.

"Of course I am, because I'm…" Jasmine paused to do her big pose and flourish. "JASMINE TROY!"

"You're a damned fool is what you are!" Chelsea said. "But I love you." Chelsea opened her arms for a hug. They broke the embrace. "Now go take your shower first. I feel like using all the hot water today."

"Chelly! I've got to wash my hair!" Jasmine exclaimed.

"Never mind. I'll go first. You'll be a few hours washing that mane!" Chelsea said of Jasmine's thick hair.

"I love you too." Jasmine said sarcastically as Chelsea brushed past her en route to the bathroom.

It was seven-thirty in the Baxter household. Cory was in the bathroom showering, getting ready for the day while Raven was knocked out cold in the guest bedroom. Alana didn't drop her off until after 1 am and she fully intended on the bed being her best friend for the better part of the morning. A knock on the bedroom door, however, ended her dreams of friendship.

"Rae?" Victor called out from the other side of the door. Victor knocked again.

"What circle of Dante's hell is this?" Raven grumbled under her breath to herself as she rolled over. "Yeah, Dad?" Raven called out in a gravelly voice.

"Good morning! Whoa! Rough night Sweetie?" Victor said when Raven sat up in the bed, her hair practically standing on end.

"Great night. Rough morning. What's up?" Raven asked groggily.

"I just got off the phone with the President's personal secretary. He's got a few minutes in his schedule this afternoon and he wants to meet you! Isn't that great?" Victor beamed.

"I cannot meet the President looking like this." Raven deadpanned.

"That's why I woke you up at seven-thirty. We're not leaving until ten-thirty." Victor said with a smile. "I figured you could get a little tour of the place and we can have lunch

"Lunch at the White House? You da man, Dad." Raven deadpanned again.

"We'll be downstairs when you get ready." Victor said.

As soon as Victor closed the door, Raven flopped back down in the bed. "Oh, that feels too good." Raven said as she began to sit back up. "I gotta get up now or it'll never happen."

Around 10:15, Raven descended the staircase and walked into the kitchen where Cory and Victor were talking.

"Wow! I'm not just saying this 'cause you're my daughter, but you look great!" Victor said. Raven was wearing a navy pinstripe pants suit and four inch navy heels. Her hair was neatly curled and fell just past her shoulders.

"Dad, don't go blowin' her head up. Her ego is big enough already." Cory joked.

"I was gonna tell you that you looked nice but I don't compliment cockroaches." Raven shot back.

"All right you two." Victor said. "I need you to be on MORE than your best behavior today. Cory, you know how to act."

"How many times have you been there?" Raven asked.

"This will make number three." Cory said. "Pretty soon, they'll be giving me my VIP pass to the Lincoln bedroom."

"I don't even have a joke. You're just stupid." Raven joked. Victor shot her a look that made her recant. "Sorry, Dad. I set the example."

"So you do listen to me!" Victor said. "Come on. Let's go."

While they were in the car, Victor told Raven about the game that he and Cory went to. He also told her about their stop at the bowling alley next door to the Verizon Center and that Cory cracked 200 for the first time.

"So what did you and Alana do last night?" Victor asked.

"She took me to this club downtown." Raven said. "We had fun." _That was the understatement of the millennium." _She thought to herself.

"What club was it?" Cory asked.

"Club Chaos." Raven answered.

"Did you hook up with anybody?" Cory probed.

"Cory! Dad is in here!" Raven exclaimed. "He does not want to hear about his baby girl in the club!"

"I can tell by the way you answered him that you did so just tell him her name please so he can shut up about it." Victor said.

"Dad! Do you think I would come to a foreign city and hook up with somebody on my first night here?" Raven reasoned. "I met a woman, her name is Danni and she seemed nice. We exchanged numbers and that was it. Period, end of story."

"All right. It just that Alana loves to push you into letting your hair down…" Victor started. "No. You are a grown woman. It's none of my business what you did. You came home alive and in one piece. That's good enough for me." Victor finished just as they pulled up to one of the White House's security gates.

After being credentialed, Victor led Cory and Raven to the main kitchen. Along the way, Victor introduced them to several members of the President's senior staff as they ventured outside the West Wing as well as some of the maintenance staff and the Chief Usher of the White House. In all, the walk to the kitchen, which would have taken less than five minutes without interruption, took twenty minutes to complete. When they arrived they headed into Victor's office.

"Wow! Nice office, Dad!" Raven said as she looked around. "This is bigger than the postage stamp of an office you had at The Chill Grill!"

"It's not the nicest office in the place but it's all right." Victor said.

"Are we gonna get to see the Oval Office?" Raven asked.

"That's where we're supposed to meet him, around two." Victor said.

"Rae! They have anything you want in this kitchen! I made a dagwood sandwich that you could choke a horse on!" Cory exclaimed.

"So what are we gonna have for lunch?" Raven asked.

"Oh, I asked my sous chef to whip up some of our favorites." Victor said with a smile. "Give me a couple of minutes to change and I'll show you two around." With that Victor stepped into the bathroom in his office and left Cory and Raven to chit chat. A few minutes later, Victor emerged with his flag blue chef's top with the presidential seal on the breast, "Chef Victor" stitched in white cursive underneath the seal and "Executive Chef stitched underneath the name. He wore black chef's pants and a black chef's hat.

"That is an executive chef right there!" Raven exclaimed. "Look at my handsome daddy!" Raven embraced her father.

"Don't make me blush before I go out in front of my staff!" Victor said with an embarrassed smile.

"You are such a wimp." Cory said. Victor cut him a dirty look. "A handsome, virile, studly man that is my father that I respect!"

"Get out of my office." Victor joked. "Come on."

Victor began showing Cory and Raven around the kitchen, introducing them to the staff. At one point Victor was talking to Raven and Cory about a typical day at the White House when he stopped mid-sentence.

"Shit!" Victor whisper-yelled as he looked toward the kitchen entrance. "I forgot the First Lady and her interns were coming to discuss the State Dinner. At least you'll get to meet the First Lady."

Cory and Raven turned to see the First Lady. She was standing near the kitchen entrance facing the three of them. She was slightly obscured by the two women that were standing facing her, looking through folders that each of them possessed.

"Chef Victor!" The First Lady called out. She began walking toward them. The two women with the First Lady turned to follow her, still talking to one another.

Raven turned to Cory. "The First Lady!" She whisper-yelled. "That woman's got style!" Raven turned her head to face the three women at the same time the two women accompanying the First Lady did. When their eyes met, their blood ran cold and then hot again. _HOLY SHIT! IT'S HER! _Raven's mind screamed. Raven was paralyzed.

It took everything inside Chelsea to keep her mouth from flying open. _OH GODDAMN! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS! _Chelsea's mind exclaimed. Jasmine's eyes grew wide as saucers as she glanced at her shell-shocked best friend standing next to her.

"Mrs. Martinez, so good to see you again." Victor said. "I'd like to introduce you to my children. This is my son, Cory."

"How do you do, Cory. Your father speaks very highly of you." Mrs. Martinez said.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, ma'am." Cory said.

"And this, is my daughter Raven." Victor said.

_Raven. Gorgeous name. _Chelsea thought.

"I know your father is a happy man. He has told me how much he has missed you." Mrs. Martinez said.

"I… missed him… too." Raven said managing a half-smile her eyes darting back and forth between the First Lady and the redhead from the night before.

"Victor, these are two interns on my staff for the summer and maybe longer…" Mrs. Martinez smiled. "This is Jasmine Troy…" She motioned to Jasmine, who smiled. "And Chelsea Daniels."

_Chelsea. Rolls off the tongue. _Raven said to herself.

"So you ladies are still in school?" Victor asked.

Chelsea was still in shock at seeing her accidental lover so Jasmine took the reins. "Yes sir, we're both going into our senior year at GW."

"Ahh! My daughter will be a senior at UCLA this fall." Victor said proudly.

"I graduated from UCLA!" Mrs. Martinez said.

"Go Bruins!" Raven squeezed out with mild enthusiasm, not able to tear her attention away from Chelsea for more than a moment.

"Guys if you'll excuse us, we have to go over this menu for next month's State Dinner." Victor said to his children. "You can wait in my office for me. There's a TV in there."

"Actually, Mrs. Martinez?" Jasmine said, briefly glancing at Chelsea before continuing. "Maybe you and I could discuss the menu with Chef Victor while Chelsea gives Raven and Cory a brief tour of the House?"

"Huh?" Chelsea said loud enough for Jasmine to hear her.

"Chelsea, if you wouldn't mind. That would be a good idea!" Mrs. Martinez said.

"Of course, Mrs. Martinez." Chelsea said, flashing Jasmine an imperceptible "what did you just do" look.

"I just need to get my purse out of your office." Raven said. "Excuse me. Come with me Cory." Raven didn't give Cory a chance to respond as she grabbed his hand and led them into the office.

"Listen to me." Raven said sternly to her brother. "I don't want you to ask me any questions. I am giving you forty bucks. I need you to hang back, out of ear shot. Here." Raven reached insider her purse and pulled out two twenties.

Cory looked at the intensity in his sister's eyes. The wheels inside his head began to turn as he took the money from Raven's hand. Just as he slid the bills into the front pocket of his slacks, his mind clicked.

"Chelsea is Danni!" Cory whisper-yelled. Raven glared at him. She sometimes hated that he was so perceptive. "Danni… Daniels. You looked like you wet your pants when you saw her. Then again maybe you did!" Cory snickered at his double entendre. Without warning, Raven snatched Cory up by the collar. "Hey!"

"Look." Raven said through gritted teeth. "I do not need you being so damned right right now. Yes. Chelsea is Danni. Yes, we hooked up last night and I really felt attracted to her so whatever you do, I need you to be a good brother and hang back on our tour."

"I need twenty more bucks." Cory said calmly.

"You blood sucking leach!" Raven whisper-yelled.

"I want you to be happy, I want you to be in love. But I also want NCAA Football 08 and it's $54.99 at Best Buy." Cory reasoned.

Raven mumbled something nasty under her breath as she jammed her hand into her purse for a third twenty dollar bill as she practically threw it at him.

"You should be in the mafia, you know that?" Raven said.

"Nah. I'd have to share my earnings with too many people. I prefer to work alone." Cory said.

"Just make sure you're walking… alone on this tour." Raven said. "**Chelsea** and I have some catching up to do." Raven emphasizing the redhead's real name.

Raven and Cory walked out of the office and back over to the group.

"Okay, we're all set." Raven said.

"We won't be too long, ma'am." Chelsea said to Mrs. Martinez. "Okay. Follow me."

Chelsea led them out of the kitchen and began walking down a corridor toward the elevator. Raven purposely trailed several steps behind, taking in the view.

_That ass is even better the day after. _Raven said to herself.

_She is so checking out my ass. _Chelsea said as they reached the elevator. "This will take us up to the main floor." Chelsea said, not wanting to make direct eye contact with Raven yet.

When they reached the main floor, Raven mouthed to Cory, "bathroom". Cory looked at her incredulously then pursed his lips before speaking.

"Excuse me, Chelsea, could you tell me where the bathroom is?" Cory asked.

"Go past that guard's station. It's the third door on the left. Tell him you're with me." Chelsea said. Cory turned to leave as Chelsea finally turned her focus to Raven.

The two women looked sheepishly at one another, dropping their eyes and bringing them back up before smiling awkwardly before Chelsea summoned up the courage to speak.

"I'm Chelsea Daniels. It's nice to meet you." Chelsea extended her hand with a sheepish smile.

Raven chuckled softly. "I'm Raven Baxter. Nice to meet you." She replied warmly as she placed her hand in Chelsea's to shake it. And there it was – IT. The electric spark that they had on the dance floor returned with a vengeance. They took a moment to allow it to sink in before breaking the handshake.

"So you are the Raven I've heard about." Chelsea said. "Funny. I had never seen your picture."

"So you work at the White House." Raven said. "What are the odds I hook up with someone that works with my Dad?"

"Small world." Chelsea said.

"Yeah. Small." Raven said. There was an awkward silence between them for a moment before the thought on Raven's mind could be held no more. "I thought about you all last night."

Chelsea smiled. "I thought about you too. I was gonna call you when I got home tonight."

"Now you don't have to." Raven said.

"I think I still will." Chelsea said. "I love your name by the way. It's beautiful."

Raven smiled and blushed. "Thank you. I love yours too. It rolls off the tongue."

"I wouldn't know about that yet." Chelsea said, introducing double entendre into their conversation.

"We didn't get quite that far last night." Raven said causing both of them to laugh softly. "We've got time. I'm here all summer."

"So how much did you pay your brother to go to the bathroom?" Chelsea asked.

Raven looked Chelsea and raised an eyebrow in surprise that Chelsea hit the nail on the head. "Sixty bucks. But it was mainly to hang behind us on the tour."

"Have dinner with me. I know a great Japanese place outside of the city." Chelsea said.

"Okay. I'd love to." Raven said with a smile. "And it looks like round one of our conversation is over." Raven said, seeing Cory coming back from the bathroom.

"I'd say round one was a draw… even though you're a knockout." Chelsea said.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Ms. Daniels." Raven teased.

"You read my mind." Chelsea whispered causing Raven to shudder, remembering that the redhead said the same thing before their backroom encounter the night before. "Now let's get on with our tour. Ready, Cory?"

Raven looked at Chelsea walk up to Cory and start down the hall with him. She smiled and shook her head. _I have got to be the luckiest woman on this planet. She… is… mine. _

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**Three up, three down. End of an inning? Yes. Number of chapters written in Trip's story so far? Yes. Is there more? You bet there is. Come join us. But first, PLEASE REVIEW.**

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	4. Approaching the Crescendo

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story. **

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**It Had To Be You**

_**Chapter 4**_

**Approaching the Crescendo**

Raven made her dinner date with Chelsea for next night and she along with Cory finished their tour of the White House and rejoined their father for lunch. After their wonderfully prepared lunch, Victor took Raven and Cory on a driving tour of the city, checking out as many landmarks as possible. During their drive, Raven called Alana, who invited Raven back to her apartment in Alexandria, Virginia, approximately 15 minutes from the Pentagon. Victor dropped Raven off at Alana's after securing a promise from his daughter that he could get some face time with her the that weekend.

With a bounce in her step, Raven walked up to Alana's door and knocked. Alana opened the door.

"What's up, Chica?" Alana said with a smile and a big hug.

"What's up girl?" Raven said with a loaded smile.

"Looks like this cat ate the canary! You know you better spill! Did she call you?" Alana asked excitedly as she led them over to her couch.

"Can I have a tour of your apartment first?" Raven asked incredulously.

"No." Alana said abruptly. "First the gossip, then the tour."

"Okay." Raven said with a smirk. "No she didn't call me."

"Then what the hell are you grinning about?" Alana asked.

"Nothing. I just saw her today. That's all." Raven said with a grin.

"No shit! Where? Did you talk to her?" Alana asked excitedly.

"I went to lunch with Cory and my father at the White House…"

"So she works near there?" Alana asked.

"How about she works… there. She's one of the First Ladies' interns!" Raven exclaimed.

"OH… MY… GOD! What did you say when you saw her?" Alana asked.

"I was speechless. So was she." Raven said.

"So… what's her name? What's she like? Are you going out with her?" Alana fired off in rapid succession.

Raven sighed. "Her name is Chelsea Daniels. She seems to be a sweet, incredibly sexy woman… and she invited me to this Japanese restaurant tomorrow night!"

"So she didn't have club face?" Alana asked.

"She's even more gorgeous than I remember!" Raven said. "I swear she could be an actress or a model!" Raven beamed.

"You are really falling for her." Alana said softly.

"There is an electricity there. It's just… if we weren't in the White House… OOH!" Raven exclaimed.

"Damn! Raven's got the fever for the flavor!" Alana exclaimed. "What did I tell you? Did I tell you I was gonna get you laid?"

"Uhh, excuse me, but it was I that got me laid. And this is… I don't know…" Raven said. "There is a sexual electricity there, but it feels… different. It feels like there is a deeper connection."

"Raven, be careful." Alana said ominously. "I know that you want to find true love and have all the hearts and the chocolates and the bells and the whistles, but you just met her. You had sex with her before saying a word to her. You don't know anything about her other than her name and that she works in the White House."

"I'm not that naive, Alana!" Raven scoffed. "I know I don't know about her. That's why we're going out on this date. I've got three months to find out."

"Just promise me you won't get hurt again." Alana said softly.

"I won't. I promise." Raven said softly in return, giving her best friend a well deserved hug.

Chelsea and Jasmine walked into their Foggy Bottom apartment around nine that evening after a long day in the West Wing. The first thing both of them did was kick off their heels in disgust over their discomfort.

"Heels were not made to be worn…" Chelsea said as she pulled her shoes off, flinging them across the living room. "…for twelve consecutive hours!"

"But they look so good!" Jasmine said as she sat down at the dining room table, gingerly pulling her shoes off and rubbing her feet.

"I still can't believe you paid three hundred dollars for those shoes." Chelsea said in tired awe as she flopped down on the sofa.

"They are Manolo Blahniks that I found on eBay. You are not going to find a better deal anywhere." Jasmine said as she got up and walked into the kitchen. "You hungry?"

"Nah. I'm good." Chelsea replied.

"I still can't believe that Lydia from the club is really Chef Victor's daughter!" Jasmine said as she rambled through the refrigerator.

"I'm still in shock over that one myself." Chelsea admitted.

"You could've fooled me with you asking her out to dinner and all." Jasmine replied.

"You don't think I should have?" Chelsea asked.

"Are you kidding me? Do you know what a miserable lump you'd have been if you didn't ask her out?" Jasmine commented. "Her stuff must be made of gold!"

"It's not like that, Jazz. She… does something to me." Chelsea said with stars in her voice and her eyes. "When she touches me I feel… alive. I mean I shook her hand in the hallway today and I felt just like I did on the dance floor with her. It's like she's the elixir for my soul."

"Elixir for your soul." Jasmine deadpanned. "Chels, I know for a fact that you haven't smoked weed since the tenth grade so I know you're not high."

"I think I am high… high off of her." Chelsea paused for a moment. "She's… intoxicating."

"Okay, first she's the elixir for your soul now she's intoxicating next she'll be oh my God you're in love." Jasmine ran her thoughts together in that one sentence. Chelsea looked Jasmine in the eyes and then quickly dropped them to her fidgeting hands in her lap. "Oh my God! You fell in love with her at first sight!" Jasmine began laughing. "I thought this shit only happened in movies, but you… you are head over heels in love with her, aren't you?"

"I may be." Chelsea eked out. Jasmine laughed again. "Okay, I don't need you laughing at me! I didn't plan for this to happen!"

"Ohhhh." Jasmine let out a sigh near the end of her laugh. "I'm not laughing at you to make fun of you, it's just ironic that people that know us would swear that I would say something like that before you would. Heck, I'd have bet on falling in love at first sight before you. You're so…"

"Boring? Predictable?" Chelsea said.

"Organized." Jasmine said.

"Organized. Great." Chelsea said flatly. "Why don't I just change my cell phone message to say, 'Welcome to Relationship Depot. For sex, press one, for love, press two, for kinky sex with toys, press three…"

"Okay, organized was a bad word." Jasmine said chuckling. "I just meant that you have everything planned out. You're the antithesis of impetuous. You're always responsible and careful and…"

"I lead with my brain, not my heart." Chelsea said.

"I'm glad to see you're heart take the lead for once. It's been awhile." Jasmine said.

"I know what road you're trying to go down, so just turn the car around." Chelsea said, tightening up slightly.

"Jennifer hurt you. I get that. But you can't just lock that hurt up like it doesn't exist. You've got to deal with it and not let it build up inside you." Jasmine said.

"I thought I told you never to utter her name in this apartment." Chelsea said ominously.

"You want to get pissed at me for mentioning her name then fine." Jasmine started. "But don't come crying to me when Raven says or does something that reminds you of her and you fly off the handle saying or doing something stupid to hurt her. Don't saddle Raven with your baggage."

"I don't have baggage! I just don't want to talk about Jennifer, okay?" Chelsea said, raising her voice, spitting the name Jennifer out like a spoonful of castor oil.

"Why are you getting angry?" Jasmine asked.

"Because I asked you not to talk about her!" Chelsea exclaimed. "I don't ask you for much! All I ask is that you not talk about her!" Chelsea ranted. Jasmine said nothing. She just looked at Chelsea with a knowing look. "WHAT?" Chelsea said in reaction to Jasmine's blank stare. "All right! Jennifer hurt me, okay? She left me for a man just like Tina left Bette in The L Word, and it hurt then and it still hurts, OKAY? Is THAT what you wanted to hear?" Chelsea's lip then quivered, the prelude to a deluge of tears. "Are you happy now?" Chelsea then began to softly cry.

"No. I'm not happy." Jasmine said calmly as she walked over and sat next to Chelsea on the sofa. "I don't want to make you cry. But you need to get that out of your system before you pursue something with Raven." Jasmine bent at the waist to look Chelsea, who had slumped at the waist on the sofa. "I believe in the whole love at first sight thing and if you feel that for this Raven, then I am behind you one hundred percent. But you can't give her everything you have if you have this angry, bitter piece of you that you are holding on to." Chelsea looked over at Jasmine with teary eyes upon hearing that. "You've got to let it go." Jasmine paused. "You really like Raven don't you?"

"I do." Chelsea whispered meekly.

"Then you've got to let it go." Jasmine said.

Chelsea dropped her head and then lifted it again. "I'm sorry I yelled at you." Chelsea said with child-like contrition in her voice.

Jasmine pulled her into an embrace. "It's okay, girl. I just took one for the team."

The next day came and went for Raven, who wanted to ensure that she looked right for her first date with Chelsea. After much debate, she decided to put her hair up in a loose, curly ponytail. She also opted to go for simplicity over pizzazz in choosing a simple black dress that hit her just above the knee and a pair of black heels. She figured showing off a set of her eye-catching assets couldn't hurt.

As Raven was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, there was a faint knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in." Raven said. She looked in the mirror to see Cory walk in. "Hey Cory. What's up?"

"Hey Rae. I just wanted to give you this back." Cory said as he placed the sixty dollars that Raven had given him on the vanity.

"Why are you giving me this back? This is yours." Raven asked.

"I shouldn't have blackmailed you like that. You just wanted some time to get to know her. You shouldn't have to pay for that." Cory said.

"Uhh… thanks." Raven said, taken aback by his generosity.

"Stand up. Lemme see you." Cory said. Raven stood and turned to face him, flaring her skirt out a little. "She won't know what hit her. You look great."

"Thank you." Raven flashed a wide smile. "I've been so wrapped up in me since I got here… how are you doing?"

"I tell you what… you concentrate on your date tonight and we'll talk about me at breakfast Sunday morning. Deal?" Cory said.

Raven smiled and cocked her head to one side. "Deal." Seconds later, the doorbell rang.

"_I'LL GET IT!"_Victor called out from downstairs.

"Sounds like your date's here. You ready?" Cory asked.

"I'm nervous. I don't want to mess this up." Raven said.

"How can you? As long as you're Raven, she's bound to love you." Cory said. "Have fun." Cory added before placing a kiss on Raven's cheek and turning to go to his room.

Raven smiled once again before walking out into the hallway to descend the stairs.

Moments earlier…

"Chelsea, can I get you something to drink while you wait?" Victor offered.

"No thank you, Chef Victor. I'm fine." Chelsea said.

"You're going out on a date with my daughter. Please drop the 'Chef'. It's Victor." Victor said.

"Can I call you Mister B?" Chelsea asked.

"Yeah! Sure! Huh. Funny. That's what Eddie calls me." Victor said.

"Eddie?" Chelsea inquired.

"Yeah. Raven's other best friend. He goes to school in L.A. He, Alana and Raven were like that growing up." Victor crossed his fingers as he described how close the three friends were. "Even though Alana lives here, they still are." Chelsea smiled and nodded.

Just then, Raven began her descent down the stairs. Victor smiled and raised an eye at how beautiful his daughter looked. Chelsea's heart skipped a beat when she saw the caramel-skinned beauty.

"Hi Chelsea." Raven said sweetly, walking over to the redhead. "You look beautiful." Chelsea wore a light green knee length dress, the length serving to accentuate her lean, dancer's legs and the color accentuating her auburn hair. Strappy heels that showed off her twenty dollar pedicure finished the ensemble.

Chelsea lightly touched Raven's shoulders and placed a kiss on her cheek. The electricity of their touch once again flowed between them. "Not me, but you. You're stunning. Are you ready?"

"All set." Raven said.

"You two have fun." Victor said. "I'll leave the light on for you."

Raven smirked. "Thank you, Tom Bodette." Raven joked, referring to the guy in the Motel 6 commercials.

Chelsea couldn't help but smile. _She's got a great sense of humor. Thank goodness. _She thought. "Bye, Mister B. We'll be careful." Chelsea said.

_Mister B? _Raven thought. _That sounded… right to me._

"Bye, girls." Victor said as they stepped outside and closed the door.

Chelsea led Raven to the end of the driveway and opened the passenger door to her dark gray 2002 BMW 318i. Raven swung her legs around to settle in just before Chelsea closed the door. Raven took note of how clean the car was inside and out. It smelled like fresh leather. Chelsea slid in behind the wheel, buckled up and turned the key causing the German sports car to rumble to life.

"Nice car." Raven said softly.

"Thanks. I just bought it. One of the senior staffers bought a new car and the let me have this one for a steal." Chelsea said as she smoothly shifted the car into second gear.

"You're working that stick like a pro." Raven said.

"I don't work sticks anymore." Chelsea said with a raised eyebrow and a glance at Raven out of the corner of her eye. Raven caught the double entendre and smirked.

"I didn't mean…"

"I know what you meant. I wanted to see if I could get you to blush." Chelsea said with a smile. "Anyway, it's not that hard. You've never driven a stick shift before?"

"No. I'm an automatic girl." Raven said.

"Manual manipulation gives you greater control." Chelsea said. Raven swore she detected a purr in Chelsea's voice.

"I'll remember that." Raven said, glancing at the redhead shift the car into third gear as they headed onto the parkway.

"I know I said we were going to a Japanese restaurant tonight but the Chinese place next door is a little cozier. I hope you don't mind." Chelsea said.

"That's fine. I accepted the invitation for the company anyway, not the food." Raven said.

There was a pregnant silence in the car as Chelsea got off at the next exit, turned left and continued straight down a two lane road. Raven took the opportunity in the silence to check Chelsea out. The sun was beginning to set on the warm June evening, casting a warm golden hue inside the car's cabin. Raven found herself gazing at Chelsea's legs as she occasionally downshifted and then upshifted based on the traffic flow.

"So your father said you go to UCLA. Are you all from Los Angeles?" Chelsea asked.

"No. We lived in San Francisco. That's where I grew up." Raven said.

"You know, my parents were supposed to move to San Francisco before I was born." Chelsea said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. My father had accepted a teaching position at San Francisco State but GW made him a better offer and he stayed put." Chelsea said. "They had the house picked out and everything."

"You mean… we might have known each other growing up?" Raven said.

Chelsea thought about Raven's question for a minute. "Maybe. Depends how far 817 Miranda Street is from your house. That's where our house would have been." Chelsea said.

"817 Miranda Street?" Raven said. "We lived at 519 Miranda Place! That's like less than four blocks from my house! We would have been neighbors, gone to the same school… everything!"

"To think that I missed out on twenty-two years of you." Chelsea said.

"But… you don't know anything about me." Raven said.

"I bet that there will be less than five things I dislike about you." Chelsea said.

"You're probably right." Raven said causing both of them to laugh. "You have a beautiful smile."

"I love your laugh." Chelsea replied almost immediately. More awkward silence ensued as both women tried to put their rising libidos back in check. "Look, about the club. I…"

"I don't regret a single thing that happened that night." Raven said with absolute clarity. "When I saw you across that dance floor, I had never been so physically attracted to anyone in my life. Right now, it's taking everything that I have inside me right now not to run you off the road and climb into that driver's seat with you. But I want to get to know you up here." Raven pointed to her head. "Not just down here." Raven brushed Chelsea's bare right leg with her fingertips.

"You…" Chelsea felt her mouth suddenly go dry. "You took the words right out of my mouth. So… how do we do this? I mean keep our visual… stimulation in check long enough to get to know each other?"

"We look at each other squarely in the eye when we talk to each other…" Raven started. "We… walk side by side…"

"Yeah, because you were looking at my ass in the White House." Chelsea said.

"I WAS NOT… yeah, I was." Raven admitted. "Have you seen it?"

"Okay, stop!" Chelsea admonished her date. "We can't have any of that right now. We are trying to get to know each other. You don't see me going on about staring at your cleavage."

"I knew this was the right dress to wear tonight." Raven gave herself a verbal high-five.

"You damn right it was." Chelsea whispered. "NO! Now that's enough." Chelsea jokingly exclaimed. "We are going to make it to this restaurant and have a nice dinner with sparkling dinner conversation, flirt with each other like normal people on a date…"

"You have this thing all figured out, huh?" Raven asked with a smirk.

Chelsea's mind stopped in its tracks. Jasmine's words from the night before rang in her head. _"You're the antithesis of impetuous. You're always responsible and careful and…"_

"No." Chelsea said with a soft smile. "And I don't want to figure it out." Just then, Chelsea put her blinkers on and pulled over onto the shoulder of the road that had just widened to two lanes on each side separated by a median. She then unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over, cupped Raven's face and delivered a soft, sensual kiss to the beautiful brunette that they both melted into in a matter of nanoseconds. After a moment, Chelsea broke the kiss and pulled back. "I would have been thinking about that all during dinner. Those lips are irresistible." Chelsea then licked her bottom lip and withdrew from the now-heavily breathing Raven, re-buckled her seat belt and put the car back into gear, maneuvering back onto the road.

_Oh God! What is she doing to me? _Raven said to herself as her body snapped to full alert following the kiss. _I need her. I hope she is the real deal._

_I am losing my mind!_ Chelsea said to herself. _I have got it so bad for her! Please let her be as sweet as I think she is._

Both of their minds raced to the same conclusion as they both said to themselves…

_I want her._


	5. Raven's Fortune

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.**

**Author's Note: The restaurant mentioned below is an actual restaurant that exists in the Maryland suburbs. Check it out if you get a chance!**

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**It Had To Be You**

_**Chapter 5**_

**Raven's Fortune**

Chelsea and Raven arrived at the non-descript shopping center on the non-descript road in the non-descript Maryland suburb. The shopping center was nothing spectacular to look at with anchor stores like Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx and Giant grocery store. As they walked toward the restaurant, Raven noticed the two stone lions guarding the entrance.

"Take a picture! I need some more goofy pics for my album." Raven said, pulling out her small digital camera.

"I've got a better idea." Chelsea said to Raven before turning her attention to a couple coming out of the restaurant. "Excuse me. Could you take a picture of my girlfriend and me?" Chelsea asked the couple. The man acknowledged her and agreed to take the picture. Chelsea walked over to stand next to Raven near the lion's head. "Here's hoping this is the first of many pictures we take together." Chelsea whispered before smiling for the picture. If that statement was designed to get a smile out of Raven, it worked because the hazel-eyed beauty beamed.

After taking the picture they walked in to the restaurant, named Grace's Fortune. Raven was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of the restaurant which was romantic but still oddly had a family feel to it. She chuckled as they walked across a small foot bridge that went across a pond sunken into the floor that contained a school of coy fish.

"Now that's cute." Raven said. "I'd love to do that in my room." Chelsea turned to smile before heading to the host station.

After being seated, a server came over and immediately filled their glasses with ice water. Seconds later a second server came over offering them warm, moist towels to wash their hands with.

Raven stretched her eyes and leaned forward. "This place must be expensive."

"You'd be surprised. It's really not." Chelsea said. "Good food at a reasonable price with excellent service. Jazz and I come here every now and then."

"Jazz. That's Jasmine Troy from the White House. Right?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. She's been my best friend since we were four. She is a trip. She always has a joke or a smart-ass remark." Chelsea said.

"Sounds like my best friend Alana." Raven said, taking Alana's picture out of her purse and handing it to Chelsea. "Always got something to say."

"She's beautiful." Chelsea said. "You two ever…?"

"OH GOD NO!" Raven quietly exclaimed. "That would be like kissing my brother Cory! No, she's fine and all but I'll let Darius have her." Raven said before smirking and tossing the ball back into Chelsea's court. "What about you and Jazz?"

"I couldn't afford to keep her if we did." Chelsea joked. "But seriously, no. We kissed once on a bet at spring break one year, but that was it. She was a good kisser from what I remember." Chelsea said with a smile.

"Better than me?" Raven quickly slipped into seductive mode.

"Not even close." Chelsea answered with equal honey-like sensuality.

"Good to see I haven't lost my touch." Raven said. A moment later, Raven jumped slightly as she felt the silky smooth leg of her dinner companion sliding against hers under the table.

"Neither have I." Chelsea purred. She then quickly caught herself. "Raven, I am so sorry. I don't know what's gotten in to me lately. I normally don't… you just…"

"Do something to you? I know. I feel the same way about you." Raven said. "I have an overwhelming urge to ask you to skip dinner but the food smells so good…" Both women laughed at that as the server came over to the table to take their order. Raven ordered the chicken fried rice while Chelsea opted for the beef and broccoli with fried rice. "Funny. For some reason I fancied you as a vegetarian." Raven noted.

"A vegetarian? Me? No. My ex told me that I was a man's dream woman." Chelsea said. "I eat red meat, watch sports, curse like a sailor when my team isn't doing well and have been known to puff on a cigar when offered… Okay, only once on the cigar and it stank to high hell, but I was gonna be damned if those guys were gonna stereotype me."

"So I take it that you would rather drink a beer than a glass of wine." Raven said.

"Oh, I enjoy the finer things in life when they are at hand, but yeah, I would." Chelsea said with a smile.

"Well I'll admit that I am not big on sports. You'll have to teach me." Raven said.

"I know just the sport to start you on… baseball." Chelsea flirted.

"I don't know about baseball." Raven said with trepidation.

"You will when I teach you." Chelsea purred in a voice so sultry that it sent a pleasant chill down Raven's spine.

The two women continued to chat and flirt with one another during the course of dinner. While they were eating, they noticed an attractive Asian woman sidle over to the piano and begin to play. After several moments of listening, Raven recognized the tune that the woman was playing and began to "play" on the imaginary keyboard in front of her.

"Do you play?" Chelsea asked.

"Yeah. We had a piano in our living room at home. I've played since I was little." Raven said.

"I bet you sing too." Chelsea added.

"I've been known to sing a song or two. How did you know?" Raven asked.

"With a speaking voice as clear and beautiful as yours, it was a natural progression." Chelsea complimented.

With that, Raven leaned in over the food where Chelsea met her halfway. "You know, if you're trying to get in my panties with compliments… you don't have to. You're kinda already in." Raven said.

"Well I believe in being… thorough… in everything I do. And I mean… everything… so there…" Chelsea added with purpose. Moments later, the song ended and Chelsea motioned to the Asian woman.

"Chelsea!" The Asian woman exclaimed.

"Grace." Chelsea said. "How are you?" She asked, standing up to embrace the shorter woman.

"Still playing, still feeding the masses, so I'm good." Grace said before turning her attention to Raven. "This isn't Jasmine." Grace said with a smile.

"No. Grace this is Raven. Raven this is Grace, owner of…"

"Grace's Fortune." Raven answered with a smile before extending her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. This is a beautiful restaurant."

"You want to pay the bills? You can have it." Grace said with a smile.

Raven and Chelsea laughed. "No thanks. I pass." Raven said.

"Grace, do you mind if my friend Raven here tickles your ivories?" Chelsea said.

"Chelsea, I told you I'm married!" Grace exclaimed.

"You are so silly!" Chelsea replied.

"I know what you meant!" Grace shot back with a swat. "Of course she can." Grace then took one of Raven's hands and examined it. "Soft, not meaty. She'll be gentle enough on my keys." Grace joked. "Enjoy."

"Thank you Grace." Chelsea said with a hug.

"Anytime." Grace said. "You come back too." She said to Raven.

"I will. Thank you." Raven responded.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to finish my rounds." Grace said before waving and continuing to greet the customers.

"The Steinway is all yours." Chelsea said.

"Chels! All these people!" Raven said.

Chelsea was taken by surprise. "What did you just call me?" Chelsea asked softly.

Raven thought about what she had just said for a moment. "I… called you… Chels. Is that okay?"

"No one has ever called me Chels before." Chelsea said with slight wonder in her voice. "It's either been Chelsea or Chelly."

"Then Chels can be my special nickname for you." Raven said.

Chelsea gazed at Raven for a moment with quickly darkening eyes. Raven felt the special moment of bonding as well as she remained silent and let the moment develop. After roughly twenty seconds or so, Chelsea broke the moment.

"Go play before I knock this stuff in the floor and hop up on this table." Chelsea said in a slight growl.

"What would you do up on the table?" Raven said feigning innocence.

"Go… play." Chelsea said as they stood up and made their way over to the piano. Raven sat down and paused in thought for a moment. "So what's it gonna be?"

Raven looked up at Chelsea in thought. "Well… how about something like this…" Raven began to play. "Pick out the parts that you think apply." Raven said with a wink. Chelsea instantly recognized the melody and felt the combination of an electric warmth and a spine-tingling chill shoot through her body. That feeling intensified when Raven began to sing.

"_I keep on fallin'… iiiiiiiinnnnnn - love with you, sometimes I love ya, sometimes you make me blue, sometimes I feel good, at times I feel used, lovin' you darlin', makes me so confused…"_

Chelsea then surprised Raven by joining her for the chorus for Alicia Keys' Fallin'.

"_I keep on fallin', in and out, of love, with you, I never loved someone the way that I'm lovin' you._

When Raven hit the first notes of the second verse, Chelsea became hers.

"_Oh, Oh, I… never felt this way… how do you give me so much pleasure, cause me so much pain… cause when I think I'm taking, more than would a fool… I start fallin' back in love with you…"_

Raven continued signing the verses and Chelsea continued to supply the chorus until they reached the end. And when they were finished, the patrons of the restaurant gave them a standing ovation that brought a blush to their cheeks. After several congratulatory utterances from different tables, they made it back to their table, paid the check and headed out into the mild May night.

Chelsea tripped the door locks and let Raven in , opening the door for her. "I have to make a call. I'll be right there." She said to Raven before closing the door and dialing.

"_Hey Girl! What's up? How's the date?" _Jasmine asked.

"Going great. She sang to me and everything." Chelsea said in her calm voice. "What are you doing?"

"_Getting ready to watch a movie. Why?" _Jasmine asked.

"Call Evelyn and see if she wants to hang out… at her place." Chelsea said referring to Jasmine's older sister.

"_You're trying to get me out of the apartment so you can have the place to yourself. Aren't you?" _Jasmine said tongue-in-cheek.

"You catch on quick, don't you?" Chelsea said. "I know your parent's are glad that you didn't waste your education."

"_All right. I'll make myself disappear for the night since you almost never ask." _Jasmine said. _"But don't think I'm not gonna tease you about this."_

"I know you will." Chelsea said.

"_And why is that, Chelsea?" _Jasmine said.

"Don't make me say it." Chelsea said with dread.

"_I am. Say it." _Jasmine said. _"Why will I tease you mercilessly about your soon-to-be dalliance?"_

"Because you're Jasmine Troy." Chelsea deadpanned.

"_Say it like you mean it." _Jasmine ordered.

"Because you're Jasmine Troy!" Chelsea said with mock excitement.

"_Now I know you can't do it as well as me, but say it with the flourish!" _Jasmine demanded.

"Jasmine!" Chelsea whisper-yelled.

"_Do it." _Jasmine ordered again.

Chelsea rolled her eyes and positioned herself. "Because you're…" Chelsea then hit the pose that the Apollo dancers would hit at the end of their routine on Showtime at the Apollo. "JASMINE TROY!"

"That's my girl!" Jasmine said. "I'll be outta here in twenty minutes. Love you!"

"Love you too… you trick!" Chelsea joked, hearing Jasmine's laughter on the other end before hanging up. Chelsea then walked back over to the car and climbed in.

"Nice dance move out there." Raven observed. "What was that, Solid Gold?"

"Showtime at the Apollo." Chelsea deadpanned. "The price a roommate has to pay for privacy."

"So… are we going back to your place?" Raven said with coy sexuality.

"If… that's not too forward of me." Chelsea said. Raven responded to Chelsea's comment by leaning over and delivering a passionate kiss complete with a hand sliding high up on Chelsea's thigh.

"I hope Rihanna forgives me for stealing a line from one of her songs but, Chelsea?" Raven said with a brief pause. "Shut up and drive."

A devious but sexy smile crept across the redhead's lips before she cranked up the car and backed out of the parking space before slamming the shifter into second gear and peeling out of the parking lot.

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**Happy New Year! I'm back! Did ya miss me? Couple of things… I decided that this is going to be a short story, so there will only be one or two chapters left because I have HUGE, HUMONGOUS fish to fry!**

**I have three stories in my head. A new Londie fic, which I am going to re-name (not gonna be Harder To Breathe), a new Liley fic and a new Chrave fic. Londie and Liley are both sequels and the new Chrave fic will… are you ready? The new Chrave fic will mark the return of the Thunderstorm saga! My original Chrave will return this spring! And how about this, all three stories will be linked by a single event! It's a three story Londie, Liley and Chrave mixed-up, mashed-up CROSSOVER!**

**But first, I promise not to rush this story because I am having fun. It's a simple story about Chelsea and Raven discovering true love with each other. Enjoy. Chapter 6 is coming soon.**

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	6. Strawberry Milk Dominatrix

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.**

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**It Had To Be You**

_**Chapter 6**_

**Strawberry Milk Dominatrix**

About thirty-five minutes after leaving the restaurant, Chelsea and Raven arrived at Chelsea's Foggy Bottom apartment. As they walked toward the apartment door, their minds began to race. Chelsea was as nervous as she had ever been in her life. She felt like this was a night that was going to change her life. She still couldn't figure out why this beautiful brunette consumed her thoughts and feeling the way that she did. All that she knew was that Raven had to be hers. Raven had a similar thought process going through her mind. She was as sure as she had ever been that Chelsea was the one that she wanted. Even after only one libidinous encounter at the club and one date, she knew that this redhead was meant for her.

But even as both women readied themselves for what they knew was going to be a moment of blindingly intense electricity, they wanted to take things a little slow. Each of them in their mind wanted to get to know the other better. After all, making love begins not with the body but with the mind.

"I hope Jasmine straightened up." Chelsea muttered to herself as she pushed the key into the lock.

"What was that?" Raven said, leaning over Chelsea's shoulder to hear her. Chelsea felt Raven's breath tickle the back of her neck. It took everything insider her not to visibly shudder.

"I was just wishing aloud that Jasmine straightened up before she left. She's been known to just kind of drop and go." Chelsea said with a chuckle that Raven returned. With that, Chelsea opened the door and turned flipped the light switch on the wall to her left that turned on the kitchen light. She then reached to her right and turned on the tall torchiere lamp on the other side of the front door. "Good girl." Chelsea whispered to herself, mentally thanking Jasmine for leaving the place spotless.

"This is a really nice place." Raven said.

"Thank you. Please." Chelsea said, motioning to the sofa. Raven took the cue and moved over to the tan sofa and took a seat. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Whatever you're having is fine." Raven said.

"Are you sure?" Chelsea said with trepidation as she took her heels off and placed them beside the arm chair opposite the sofa.

"Why? You're not drinking prune juice, are you?" Raven joked.

"No." Chelsea laughed. "Nothing like that." Chelsea said before bringing out two bottles of strawberry Quik milk.

"Strawberry milk." Raven said with a smile. "I haven't had this since I was in fourth grade. Thank you." Raven said, taking a sip. "Mmm. Brings back memories."

"I've always been partial to strawberries." Chelsea said as she sipped her milk.

"I know. That's the first thing I smelled at the club… your strawberry shampoo." Raven said. Chelsea simply smiled a warm smile. "So what do your parents do?"

"They are occupational therapists." Chelsea said. "They crawl around inside your head and make you spill your guts."

"They must've had a field day with you when you came out." Raven said.

"Not really. They kinda suspected." Chelsea said. "I wasn't a big dater in high school. Jazz and I hung out all the time. As a matter of fact, they thought the two of us were together when I told them."

"My mother's jaw dropped." Raven said. "I was always so boy crazy. But they just ran their course with me."

"Well here we are, two gorgeous, Generation Y lesbians, dating and drinking strawberry milk." Chelsea said with a smirk.

"This is the best time I've had in months." Raven said. "Except for… you know."

"Yeah. I know." Chelsea said with a smile. "It's been a while for me too… since before…" Chelsea trailed off and edited her thought.

"Hey. Look, I know that pause." Raven said softly. "We don't have to go down any dark and twisty roads if you don't want to."

Chelsea looked at Raven for a moment. "No. It's okay. I need to clean my emotional closet to make room for a certain someone." Raven smiled at that comment. "I haven't had a really evening with someone since Jennifer."

"I'm not even going to ask if she was pretty." Raven said.

"Shoulder length blonde hair, about my height, very attractive and sweet." Chelsea said with a tinge of fond remembrance in her voice.

"And her fatal flaw was…" Raven asked.

"Her lingering attraction to men. She left me for one." Chelsea said with mild bitterness.

"Ouch!" Raven exclaimed and winced. "Did she at least tell you to your face?"

"She did. I think she cried more than I did." Chelsea said. "In the end though, things worked out for the best."

Raven raised her bottle of milk. "To Jennifer's lingering attraction for men bringing us together."

Chelsea looked at Raven with a blank expression for a moment before cocking an eyebrow and letting a smile slowly creep across her face before lifting her bottle of milk and touching it to Raven's. "L'Chaim." Chelsea said.

"L'Chaim." Raven added.

"So who is the cause for your pause?" Chelsea asked. Raven laughed. "Ahh, you liked that, huh? Didn't know that I'm a dope lyricist, did ya?"

"I kinda sensed that you were a dope…" Raven perfectly timed her sip of milk at that point in the sentence causing Chelsea to playfully swat at her and chuckle. Raven giggled and then proceeded to answer Chelsea's question. "Her name is Bianca."

"Beautiful name." Chelsea said.

"And a beautiful girl to match. Latina, flawless complexion, wavy black hair, killer body…" Raven paused. "And to think, she used to terrorize me in school."

"Are you serious?" Chelsea exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! She was the school bully in high school. Even dudes were afraid of her." Raven said. "She would pick on Alana, Eddie and me something awful."

"So how did you end up with her?" Chelsea questioned.

"My freshman year roommate died…"

"I'm sorry to hear that." Chelsea said.

"Thanks." Raven said softly. "So they assigned me a new roommate."

"And it was Bianca." Chelsea reasoned.

"I swear I didn't know she went to my college or any college for that matter." Raven said. "She had changed. She begged for my forgiveness for the bullying, we became friends and then more. We… might still be together if she hadn't cheated on me with some heifer from another dorm."

"Oh snap!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"Hey! That's my line! You've gotta ask for permission to use it." Raven said.

"Yes, mistress." Chelsea said in a very submissive tone. _Black leather, chains and four-inch spike-heeled boots. Hmmm. _Raven thought to herself. "You are so nasty!" Chelsea said.

"WHAT?" Raven asked incredulously. "I didn't say anything!"

"Those gorgeous eyes of yours did." Chelsea responded. "And if you're nice, one day I'll pull my Halloween costume from last year out and model it for you."

"Dominatrix?" Raven asked.

"Was it something I said?" Chelsea said.

"That body screams for tight leather." Raven purred.

"And let me guess… you were a French maid." Chelsea shot back.

"Oh we were made for each other!" Raven said, acknowledging Chelsea's dead-on guess.

"It's looking more and more like that with each passing moment." Chelsea said, her words thickening the air surrounding them.

"Is… it just me or did it get… a little warm in here?" Raven said softly.

"It's just the milk talkin'." Chelsea deadpanned, causing Raven to burst into laughter. Chelsea couldn't help but smile seeing Raven laugh. "I love to watch you laugh." Chelsea deadpanned again. Raven's laughter began to diminish as she began to feel that familiar tingle she felt around Chelsea. "Spend the night with me." Chelsea said before slowly rising to her feet and walking over to sit down next to Raven.

Raven leaned in to with millimeters of Chelsea's lips. "You had me at 'Yes, mistress'."

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"**I'm back, and better than ever, got a knack, for making things better, face facts, 'cause your opinion don't matter, this maniac, is gonna step on whoever…" Lyrics to "I'm Back", theme song for former WWE Superstar Eric Bischoff.**

**Triple L is back after a three-week hiatus and I am better than ever! Chapter six was short and to the point as will chapter seven which may be the final chapter, depending on how long I make it. Are you having a good time? I know I am! Chapter seven coming up! PLEASE REVIEW.**


	7. To The Butterfly

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.**

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_To The Butterfly_

_Child of the sun! pursue thy rapturous flight,_

_Mingling with her thou lov'st in fields of light;_

_And, where the flowers of Paradise unfold,_

_Quaff fragrant nectar from their cups of gold._

_There shall thy wings, rich as evening-sky,_

_Expand and shut with silent ecstasy!_

_-Yet wert thou once a worm, a thing that crept_

_On the bare earth, then wrought a tomb and slept._

_And such is man; soon from his cell of clay_

_To burst a seraph in blaze of day!_

_Samuel Rogers, English poet, 1763-1855_

**It Had To Be You**

_**Chapter 7**_

**To The Butterfly**

Wikipedia defines slow motion as a technique in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. Austrian physicist August Musger invented this technique in which each frame of film is captured at a rate much faster than it will be played back. It goes on to explain that slow motion can also be used for artistic effect, to create a romantic or suspenseful aura or to stress a moment in time. What Wikipedia doesn't say is that the mind employs slow motion at pivotal moments in a person's life. Movements become more pronounced, thoughts become crystallized, background sound is filtered into silence as the wavelengths of the object of your aural desire pulsate in your eardrums. You seem to levitate out of your conscious body, and yet, you have never been more alert, more tuned in to your surroundings.

Raven Lydia Baxter and Chelsea Ophelia Daniels were experiencing the mind's effect of slow motion in the real time of life. The world melted away as they slowly and purposefully brought their lips together in their most meaningful kiss to date. Excruciatingly erotic would be the best way to describe that kiss on that sofa. Raven unconsciously quivered and whimpered as their lips touched. At that same moment, Chelsea trembled and exhaled deeply. There was a satisfying completeness to that tender, electric and powerful kiss. There was a wholeness of self, an all-consuming warmth that enveloped them in that moment. It was as if the mind, in its blissful state of being, truly feared collapsing in on itself if they went any faster. So they didn't. Time stood still for them as they savored each taste of the lips of the other.

Neither woman dared to move even though they both yearned to press closer. This feeling they were experiencing was too good, too pure, and too perfect to interrupt. Only the slight tilting and re-tilting of their heads as they kissed served as movement. One minute turned into two. Two minutes turned into four as they continued, with only miniscule breaks for air as interruption. The sound of short whimpers of arousal shot through Chelsea's body as she kissed Raven. The caramel-skinned beauty was incapable of controlling that sound, for each time she felt Chelsea's warm breath as she exhaled, a body shuddering tingle would course through her body.

Raven was the first to slowly break the kiss, beginning with a soft kiss on Chelsea's chin, continuing to kiss a slow path along the redhead's jaw line. Never in her life had Chelsea felt so alive as she did in the presence of the woman whose lips felt like ambrosia on her skin. Raven continued kissing along the outline of Chelsea's jaw, stopping just short of her ear.

"I need you so bad." Raven whispered softly into Chelsea's ear.

Chelsea, whose eyes were already half-closed in an erotic haze, pressed her eyelids shut as she drank in the meaning behind those words. Chelsea delicately laid her cheek onto Raven's, positioning her lips close to Raven's ear as she whispered her response, "Not as bad as I need you." Raven was able to deliver one more kiss before Chelsea broke the kiss and began to rise to her feet. "Come on." Chelsea softly whispered as she offered her hand to Raven who accepted it as she rose to her feet and slid her heels off, following Chelsea down the hallway to the bedroom.

When they reached the bedroom, Chelsea walked across the room to turn the lamp on the nightstand on before returning to where Raven stood. Raven reached out for Chelsea's waist and gently pulled the redhead toward her, softly pressing her lips to her yet again. Moments later, Chelsea pulled back slightly.

"I think I'm dreaming." Chelsea said softly.

Raven smiled and delivered another soft kiss. "Then I guess we're having the same dream." She replied before resuming the kiss with intense but controlled passion.

They continued to kiss for several moments until Chelsea's lips left Raven's and found her neck. Raven savored the feel of soft kisses on her neck, softly moaning her approval. That feeling was joined by the feel of a soft hand caressing the outside of her thigh, sliding up to her hip. Her body trembled as she felt Chelsea slowly trace the curve of her backside with her fingertips. Being able to take no more at that moment, Raven whispered into Chelsea's ear, "Unzip me.", before slowly turning her back to her. Chelsea slowly unzipped the black dress and slid it from Raven's shoulders just enough to allow it to fall harmlessly to the hardwood floor.

Instinctively, Chelsea wrapped her hands around Raven's waist from behind and nuzzled her face into her neck, lightly kissing and nibbling to Raven's delight. She then fanned her fingers out and deliberately slid them up Raven's torso until she reached the underside of Raven's breasts. After a brief pause, Chelsea slid her hands up once more, gently caressing Raven's ample breasts through the black lace fabric of her bra. Raven's head fell back in ecstatic bliss at Chelsea's deft touch. Raven's left hand found its way over her head, running through Chelsea's thick mane of auburn hair. Raven's right hand found its way inside the waistband of her bikini briefs, her fingers dancing over the thin strip of dark hair that led to her clit.

Raven's breath caught at the back of her throat as she touched herself for the first time that evening. Chelsea was a bit surprised by this turn of events; however, her surprise was overtaken by her arousal at witnessing this first hand. Chelsea's next action took Raven by surprise as Chelsea's left hand slid underneath Raven's waistband and underneath Raven's own hand to take over. Raven was doing everything in her power to suppress the scream that she had inside as she swallowed each utterance with a large gulp of air. Then softly but suddenly, Chelsea withdrew, leaving Raven panting for more.

Chelsea had something on her mind. It was a simple thought, one word in length, but crystal clear as to her thought process. "Overdressed." She whispered as she slowly turned Raven around to face her. Raven watched with heightened anticipation as this fair-skinned goddess lifted her mint green dress over her head, leaving her in matching bra and panties of the same color. The combination of the green of her underwear, brown of her eyes and auburn-red of her hair played in perfect contrast against her porcelain skin as well as Raven's black undergarments looked against her honey-colored skin.

As if on cue, both women reached around behind them to unhook their bras. As the bras slowly fell away, their eyes fell to where the bras once lay. They each inwardly smiled as they admired the beauty and femininity of the other woman. The same thoughts went through their minds as the panties disappeared as well.

"You're more beautiful than I thought." Raven said, referencing their lack of full nakedness during their first encounter.

"You have the most beautiful body I've ever seen." Chelsea said with unabashed awe.

"You know how hard it is to make a black woman blush?" Raven said softly with a small grin.

"I wouldn't know." Chelsea said with a grin to equal Raven's.

Raven smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. "You know what they say about going black."

Chelsea took a step forward. "Oh, I don't intend on ever going back." Chelsea said before pressing her body into Raven and delivering a blindingly passionate kiss.

The passion in their next round of kisses intensified almost to the point they were at the nightclub. It was now Chelsea's turn to gasp as Raven stunned her by picking her up by the back side. Chelsea instinctively wrapped her legs around Raven's waist as they kissed. Raven, now fully supporting Chelsea's weight, took several steps forward until they reached the edge of the bed, falling on to it.

"Welcome… to… my bed." Chelsea said in between kisses.

"It's… my pleasure." Raven breathlessly replied. "And… it's about… to be yours."

Raven intertwined her fingers with Chelsea's and put the redhead's hands above her head as they continued to kiss. Raven then expanded her exploration to include Chelsea's neck.

"I… shouldn't tell you this… but I… have… a spot." Chelsea panted.

"Thanks… for… the… warning." Raven said as she continued to nibble. A minute later, she struck gold. Chelsea thrashed underneath her. "That your spot?"

"Unh-huh." Chelsea grunted in approval. Raven then descended upon that spot with ferocity. "Uhh God!" Chelsea exclaimed as she continued to squirm underneath. She was teetering on the edge doing something that she had never done in her romantic life… she was about to lose control. When Raven began sucking on her pulse point, Chelsea was gone. She unconsciously arched her back, splaying her legs open allowing Raven to settle in between as she let out an unconscious, guttural, "FUCK!", from deep inside herself. She heard herself do it and tried to mentally smack herself for doing so, but she couldn't help it. Raven had found the combination and unlocked it.

Raven began, what was to Chelsea, a slow, arduous descent down her body. Chelsea tangled her fingers in the thickness that was Raven's hair as Raven reached the swells of her round, full breasts. Raven took one of the pink nipples into her mouth and sucked deeply, causing Chelsea to practically levitate off of the bed. Chelsea screamed another profane utterance that devolved into a round of deep panting as she looked down to watch Raven work. Raven switched to the other nipple eliciting much the same response… and she wasn't finished yet.

"I am so glad went to the club!" Chelsea cried out and chuckled. Raven laughed as she kissed Chelsea's stomach.

"Wanna go back?" Raven said as she lifted her head, pretending to get up.

"Don't get up from the table in the middle of the meal." Chelsea growled. Raven looked up at Chelsea, who was looking at her. Their eyes locked, hazel on brown. Raven then cocked an eyebrow and lowered her head to kiss Chelsea's stomach. She then reached up with both hands and gently pinched Chelsea's nipples, earning a guttural purr and another arch of the back from Chelsea.

The closer Raven got to her ultimate destination, the shallower Chelsea's breathing became. As Raven reached Chelsea's bikini area, she silently marveled at how perfect Chelsea's Brazilian wax was, briefly wondering if she had gone earlier that day. That fleeting thought quickly disappeared when she took one last glance up into eyes that were begging for a long overdue release. Raven then dipped her head, forming a seal with her mouth and sucking Chelsea deeply.

Chelsea nearly sat up bolt straight in the bed as she gritted her teeth to muffle the scream that wanted to explode from her core before slamming her back into the mattress. Raven concentrated her efforts on Chelsea's clit as she observed how sensitive Chelsea was. She realized that for Chelsea it would be just a matter of minutes. A tingling fire blazed through Chelsea's body as she let loose with a torrent of screams, panting and utterances that began to drive Raven crazy with lust. Hearing how turned on Chelsea was by her actions ignited the pilot light of Raven's internal love and pushed Raven to push Chelsea to the edge.

Raven had never allowed herself to let loose in the way she was doing with Chelsea. Not with Bianca or that girl that she can't remember her name, that one night stand that she had in the weeks after breaking up with Bianca. Raven walked into Chelsea's bedroom with a desire to make love to her. She was now in her bed with a need to make her climax lustily unforgettable. Raven pushed Chelsea's legs back toward her chest and, surprised by her new lover's flexibility, used her tongue to slowly separate Chelsea's lips and dip her tongue inside.

Chelsea's lungs filled with air to scream but before she could, Raven began pumping her tongue in and out rapidly, rendering Chelsea noiseless. Sound would not come out. She was paralyzed by the sensations that were rocketing through her body. She was going to come and she knew it. Not only did she know she was going to come from this, she knew that she was going to come harder and more explosively than she ever had in her life.

She began pulling on the back of Raven's hair. To Raven, Chelsea's grip was becoming somewhat painful but she knew through that pain how good it felt to Chelsea. She could feel Chelsea shuddering and knew the end was near. She knew in that moment how bad she wanted Chelsea. She knew how bad Chelsea wanted her. It was time to give Chelsea what she wanted, what she needed. Raven took a deep breath and slid her tongue inside as far as she possibly could and gave it a wiggle. That was all she wrote.

Chelsea unwittingly pressed Raven down as far as possible as she arched her back for the final time, turning her head as far as possible, and turning her body to the side in the process, to scream at the top of her lungs into the pillow. Raven pulled back as quickly as possible to watch Chelsea ride out her orgasm. Raven licked her lips savoring the sweet taste of Chelsea as they both caught their breath.

Chelsea lay on the bed, her panting beginning to subside as the air returned to her lungs. As she looked down at Raven, who was laying on her stomach looking up at her, Chelsea's eyes darkened to near black. Chelsea was now officially sprung. She belonged to Raven, lock and key. Raven had already made her emotionally feel better than she ever had in her life. Now Raven successfully and breathtakingly added the physical to the mental. There was another storm brewing inside Chelsea. This time, it was Raven's turn to batten down the hatches.

"I'm sorry that you didn't like it." Raven said with mock contrition in her voice as she smiled. Chelsea returned the smile.

"I hated it." Chelsea playfully spat. "And I'm about to show you how much I hated it. Bring your fine ass up here."

The last sentence sent a little charge through Raven. She didn't know quite what she expected Chelsea to say, but that wasn't it. But despite the surprise, she actually liked the sassiness Chelsea displayed.

"Coming, dear." Raven said as she seductively crawled up on top of Chelsea, kissing her.

"Mmm. I taste good." Chelsea purred. Chalk up another sassy, sexy comment for Chelsea in Raven's mind. "Now, slide up a little further." Raven looked at Chelsea who gave her an evil grin that made Raven want to know what was in store for her. Raven began her northerly slide until she heard, "Stop.", beneath her. "Perfect." Chelsea purred. Raven's breasts were hovering in tantalizing fashion just above Chelsea's head.

Chelsea leaned up slightly, nipping at one of Raven's nipples. Raven drew breath between her teeth. Chelsea leaned up a second time, moving to the other nipple. Again, Raven drew breath between her teeth. Chelsea then leaned up and flicked her tongue against the hard, chocolate bud. Raven moaned. Chelsea repeated on the other nipple. Raven again moaned.

"You're driving me crazy." Raven panted.

"I know." Chelsea said with a detached sexuality before wrapping her lips around one of the nipples and sucking softly sending waves of pleasure through Raven's body.

"Damn!" Raven exclaimed softly before feeling Chelsea do the same thing to the other nipple. "You… are really… good at that."

Chelsea smirked and smiled. "Excuse me." Chelsea said before sliding down in between Raven's legs until she was face to face with Raven's center.

"Chels?" Raven said.

"Grab the headboard. I don't want you to fall." Chelsea softly said.

Raven barely had time to process Chelsea's statement before she felt the flick of Chelsea's tongue against her. Raven let out an exhaled purr that intensified as Chelsea's flicking increased in speed. "Shit!" Raven whisper-yelled as she straddled Chelsea's head. When Chelsea placed both hands on Raven's backside to steady her, Raven swiveled her hips and ground down into Chelsea's face as she purred. Raven heard Chelsea hum her approval as Chelsea began sucking her clit. "Oh my God, Chelsea!" Raven said as she dropped her head onto the headboard.

Moments later, Raven could feel Chelsea begin to move down a little further to slide out from under her, but not before feeling Chelsea give her a sweeping lick from her clit all the way down, briefly dipping her tongue inside twice in succession. "FUCK!"

"You like that?" Chelsea asked before delivering several more dips of the tongue, causing Raven to repeat her four-letter utterance with each dip. Chelsea finally extricated herself from underneath Raven but not before one final surprise, dragging her tongue slowly across Raven's ass.

"Holy shit!" Raven exclaimed in shocked surprise as she jumped.

"I'll save that for our second date." Chelsea purred. "Lay down, Beautiful."

"You're gonna make me come now, aren't you?" Raven asked in sweet mock innocence.

"That's the idea." Chelsea said.

"You know you're turning me on talking to me?" Raven asked.

"You know you're turning me on talking to me?" Chelsea countered.

"I asked you first." Raven said.

"You're lying on your back underneath me." Chelsea shot back.

"Yeah, well…" Raven started. "What you were doing with your tongue was nice."

"You mean what you did to me?" Chelsea playfully asked. Raven nodded. Chelsea leaned in close to Raven. "Is this what you want?" Chelsea parted her lips slightly and wiggled her tongue.

"How bad do you want it?" Chelsea asked, challenging Raven. Raven responded by gripping the back of Chelsea's hair and gently tugging downward. Chelsea began sliding down as she playfully bit her bottom lip. "Oh. That bad. Well, far be it from me to disappoint." Chelsea purred. "You know how long my tongue is?" Raven shook her head. "You'll find out soon enough."

"God! Woman, put your mouth on me!" Raven exclaimed. Chelsea gently latched on to Raven's clit and managed to find the most sensitive of sensitive spots. Raven was overwhelmed to the breaking point. Raven gripped the sheets as she cried out. "OH SHIT! I don't believe this!" Seconds later, Raven let out a primal scream that pierced the air. Her orgasm was at hand. Raven quickly apologized as she panted. "I'm… so sorry… your… neighbors!"

"Fuck them." Chelsea growled as she threw Raven's legs back and gave her the same treatment that she received earlier, sliding her tongue inside Raven and pumping furiously. Raven's entire body tensed and released several times as she arched her back. Raven started to cry out again and grabbed the pillow to scream into. She was shocked when Chelsea quickly snatched it away from her. "I want to hear you scream." Chelsea growled before burying her tongue to the hilt inside Raven.

Raven didn't disappoint as she emptied the air in her lungs with her continued screams. Chelsea then brought Raven to a rapid boil as she began alternating her tongue dipping with flicking her tongue against Raven's swollen bundle of nerves. The dark-haired beauty could only take a minute or so of this blissful stimulation before finally succumbing to the overwhelming feeling. Chelsea held on for dear life as the strongest orgasm of Raven's life ripped through her body.

After several moments, Chelsea slowly slid up beside Raven, propping herself up on her elbow with her head in her hand as she watched a warm smile spread over Raven's face. Raven turned her head to look at Chelsea. At that angle, Chelsea noticed the light of the lamp bringing out the light hazel color of Raven's eyes.

"I can't wait to wake up…" Chelsea paused. "And see the sunlight reflect in your eyes."

"I can't wait to hear you purr in the morning when I say good morning to you." Raven said.

"I can't wait to do this again." Chelsea said, causing both of them to chuckle.

Raven paused and smiled. "Me either."

"I say…" Chelsea leaned over to kiss Raven. "We take a nap, wake up and…" Chelsea was stopped in mid-sentence by a suddenly snoring Raven, eager to get the jump on the end of her sentence. "You are so silly!" Chelsea said as Raven opened her eyes and giggled. "I'm in love with you." Chelsea said before she lost her nerve.

Raven looked at Chelsea for a moment. "I'm in love with you too."

After gazing at each other for a moment, Chelsea spoke. "Nap time."

"Okay." Raven said sweetly as Chelsea positioned herself to snuggle into the crook of Raven's arm.

They drifted off to sleep, waking up two hours later and consummating their new relationship yet again before going to sleep for the night.

It was just after nine on Wednesday morning when Jasmine walked into the Starbucks several blocks away from the apartment to grab a pick-me-up for the morning. With the First Lady in London meeting the wife of the British Prime Minister, she and Chelsea didn't have to go in until the late afternoon and only for a couple of hours. Figuring that Chelsea and Raven would have left by the time she got back home, Jasmine planned on going home and being a vegetable until it was time to go to work. Jasmine worked her way through the line and was fixing her coffee when someone came up beside her to fix their own cup.

"Jasmine. Right?"

Jasmine lifted her head and glanced to her right at the young woman next to her. She was several inches shorter than her and in a full dress Army uniform. The young woman's black and white name tag read, "Trujillo" and she could tell by her insignia that she was a Sergeant. Jasmine cocked her head to the side and took a good look at her, sensing that she knew her from somewhere.

"Sergeant Trujillo." Jasmine acknowledged her as she would an officer inside the White House.

"Sergeant ALANA Trujillo." Alana said. It suddenly clicked in Jasmine's head. "Raven's best friend… from the club."

"Right! Right! I'm sorry! I didn't recognize you in uniform!" Jasmine said. "Damn! I know your man is happy as hell that you look that good in full dress!"

"Don't tell anybody, but there has been some unauthorized use of the uniform before." Alana joked, causing both of them to laugh. "You working today?"

"Later. Chelly and I have to go in this afternoon." Jasmine said. "Early day for you, huh?"

"I just had a meeting at Veterans' Affairs. I'm not due at work until noon." Alana said.

"Well look, since our best friends are dating now, we might as well get to know each other better too." Jasmine started. "Our apartment is only a couple of blocks from here. How about we compare notes?"

"Sounds good to me." Alana said. "Lemme finish fixing this and we can get going."

Minutes later, Alana and Jasmine were on their way back to the apartment, chatting the whole way. They hit it off immediately. By the time they reached the apartment they were laughing and joking like old friends. Jasmine opened the door to the apartment and was immediately struck by what she saw. Alana was about to say something to her when she put her finger up and turned her head, putting her finger to her lips signaling to Alana to be quiet.

Jasmine took note of several things as she looked around. The lamp at the door was on. Chelsea always turned it off before she left. The sofa cushions were out of place. Chelsea always straightened them. Then her eyes fell to the floor. Chelsea's heels were beside the armchair. She always got on Jasmine about leaving her stuff all over the place. Then, she saw the smoking guns. A second pair of heels sat on the floor in front of the sofa and two bottles of strawberry milk still sat on the coffee table.

Jasmine turned to Alana and whispered, "They're still here."

Both women grew silent, trying to hear some signs of life. After hearing nothing, Jasmine glanced down the hallway and noticed that Chelsea's bedroom door was open. She motioned for Alana to follow her. They tip-toed down the hallway until they reached the threshold of the door. When they looked inside, all they could do was smile. Chelsea and Raven were sound asleep with the sheet and comforter pulled discreetly over them, with Chelsea lying in Raven's arms. Jasmine and Alana looked at each other with tears in their eyes. Jasmine took one more look at the sleeping lovebirds before silently pulling the door closed.

"I've never seen Chelsea more at peace." Jasmine said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Rae's never looked happier." Alana said, wiping her own tears away.

Raven's eyes slowly fluttered open. She looked past her sleepiness and down into the angelic face of Chelsea. At that moment, Chelsea began to stir, slowly blinking into consciousness and stretching into a soft purr.

"Mmmm. Good morning." Chelsea said.

The thought of possible morning breath never entered Raven's mind as she leaned down to kiss her angel. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?" Raven asked.

"Best sleep ever." Chelsea purred as she continued to stretch. "What time is it?"

"Ten-thirty." Raven said. "When do you have to go to work?"

"Four." Chelsea said. "You are mine for a couple more hours."

"I like that." Raven purred. It was then that the door caught her attention. "Wasn't that door open earlier?"

Chelsea lifted her head to look. "Yeah, it was." She answered. "Look. There's a note taped to the door. Jasmine was here."

"I hope we were covered up when she came in." Raven said as Chelsea got up to retrieve the note. "What does it say?"

Chelsea smiled a warm smile. "We are so blessed." Chelsea said before handing the note to Raven and sliding back into her arms.

Raven read the note aloud._ "We are so happy for you two. We love you very much and wish you the best. Love, Jazz..." _Raven was then shocked as she saw the change in handwriting and recognized the second signature._ "And La La. P.S. – Don't worry Rae, you two were fully covered._" Raven smiled. "We are blessed. We have great friends."

"And we are great lovers." Chelsea said.

Raven looked down at Chelsea and began to sing. "It had to be you, It had to be you, I wandered around and finally found, The somebody who…"

Chelsea picked up the song. "could make me be true, Could make me be blue, or even be glad, Just to be sad, thinking of you…" Chelsea hopped up off the bed. "Come on!" Chelsea pulled Raven up off the bed, grabbed her and began dancing as both of them continued singing.

_Some others I've seen._

_might never be mean_

_Might never be cross_

_or try to be boss_

_But they wouldn't do_

_For nobody else gave me a thrill_

_With all your faults I love you still_

_It had to be you, wonderful you_

_It had to be you._

"Chels…" Raven said. "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

* * *

**And this is the end of a beautiful story. PLEASE REVIEW.**


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